


Wolfman

by BlueberriesV



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst and Humor, Anxiety, Emotional Support, Fantasy, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jealousy, M/M, Panic Attacks, Possessive Victor Nikiforov, Shapeshifting, Supernatural Elements, Supportive Victor Nikiforov, Werewolf Victor Nikiforov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 09:58:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12981606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueberriesV/pseuds/BlueberriesV
Summary: Following the breakup of his six year relationship, Katsuki Yuuri decides to foster a Siberian Husky named Viktor. After all of the stress concerning his love life, school work, money, and ice skating, Yuuri determines that a new furry friend is the answer to all his problems.However, Viktor is no ordinary dog and when the moon rises, Yuuri is in for a surprise.(Based on the manhwa, Wolf in the House)





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri glanced down at his phone in interest. He was distracted by the picture of the Siberian Husky with bright blue eyes. He was barely paying attention to the words falling out of Celestino’s mouth.

Though, he suppose it must’ve been important.

 

**_Paw & Hand Animal Shelter_ **

_URGENT_ **:** _Under his gruff exterior, Viktor has a heart of gold. If adoption or foster is not secured by tomorrow, he will be put to sleep._

_Siberian Husky: Male / White, gray / Approx. 2 years old / 40 kg_

_Found near Lux Bus Terminal_

_Prefers Male Caregivers_

_Shelter located in Detroit, Michigan_

 

“Yuuri, you’ve just landed last at the Grand Prix Final so money is expected to be a little tight. Your sponsors are not happy about your performance at Sochi but if you keep practicing your programs, I’m sure you’ll be able to make progress.”

Yuuri blinked in surprise and widened his eyes as he read the tweet. He was startled about the urgent message below the picture of the dog.

Poor thing. They were going to put him down tomorrow.

“I think you should focus on earning your degree in Journalism for now and we can continue practicing next week. You’re graduating in four months so you shouldn’t be so worried about it right now. Focus on your studies.”

Yuuri sipped his cup of coffee and continued to frown at his phone. He probably shouldn’t be as worried as he was. There was nothing wrong with the dog appearance wise.The Siberian Husky should be able to find an owner soon. There are plenty of dog lovers that will most likely adopt the cute Siberian Husky before tomorrow.

“Well, I guess that’s all I have to say for now.” Celestino said hesitantly and Yuuri finally looked up from his phone.

“Oh, okay.” Yuuri smiled at his coach and stood up. He locked his phone and placed it in his back pocket. “I’ll see you later then!”

“Yuuri.” Celestino recited his name seriously. Yuuri tilted his head at the stern tone and blinked.

“Yes?”

“I have a good feeling about the next skating season. Let’s work twice as hard and succeed. We’re gonna make a great team.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow at the determined words, already feeling doubtful. Despite the uncertainty he felt, Yuuri smiled brightly at his coach.

“Sure. I’m certain next season will be better.” Yuuri exclaimed, lying easily behind clenched teeth. “Bye, Celestino!”

He turned around and started walking away from his coach. Yuuri left quickly, eager to escape the conversation between him and Celestino. It was silly of Celestino to assume he wanted to continue skating after his huge downfall at the Grand Prix Final.

It wasn’t like there was going to be another skating season for Yuuri anyways. His skating bit the dust a long time ago.

Yuuri was done skating competitively.

 

\---

 

“Do you have a rewards card, sir?” Yuuri pulled out a card and handed it to the worker at the register.

“Here.”

The worker stared at Yuuri curiously, her brown eyes staring blankly before sparkling in recognition. Yuuri furrowed his eyebrows and he looked away in dread, already hearing the words in his head before the worker spoke them.

Oh no. Here it comes.

“You’re Yuuri Katsuki, right?”

Yuuri sent the woman a strained smile and nodded stiffly. He didn’t say anything in reply, thinking the nonverbal action would be enough. She must keep up with ice skating to be able to identify a dime-a-dozen skater like him.

“I used to be a fan of yours when I kept up with skating back in the day. You were amazing on ice!”

Ah. So she _used_ to be a fan, meaning that she wasn’t anymore. Yuuri didn’t know why the words stung more than it did to relieve him.

“Thanks.” That was the only word Yuuri said in reply. He left the register after that, not wanting to make conversation. He sat at the table furthest away from the register and stared out the window the whole time until his food came.

There was no more words exchanged between them after that.

It seemed to follow him everywhere. Skating. Yuuri didn’t want to hear anything that has to do with ice skating but no matter where he went, there was always people that had to talk about it. Yuuri just couldn’t escape from the weight of his loss at the Grand Prix Final.

His failure at the competition kept weighing him down these days and his studies were starting to take a blow from his misery of coming in last place. There was no way he was going to improve from his screw up.

Yuuri bit into his sandwich with irritation and went on his phone, looking for a distraction. He blankly looked through tweets before pausing at one post.

The silly photo of the same Siberian Husky stared back at him. Yuuri frowned in concern and read the one comment below the post.

 

 **_Annie_ ** _@anaana    3 hrs_

_Aww! I hope Viktor finds a forever home!_

 

It’s already been at least four hours since Yuuri had last read the post. The tweet has also been retweeted 565 times already and had 897 likes. The husky _still_ hasn’t found a home yet. That was quite unbelievable.

Yuuri was startled out of his thoughts when his phone dinged loudly.

It was an email from one of his classmates. Ah, they wanted him to edit a couple mistakes in the article they were writing for a group project. It was best if Yuuri started walking home then.  

 

\---

 

It was a peaceful walk back to his apartment. On his way back, Yuuri met one of his neighbors who greeted him. Yuuri responded back with a smile and glanced down at the Labrador Retriever that was accompanying his neighbor.

His heart almost burst out with glee. Yuuri was simply weak when it came to adorable dogs.

Yuuri entered the code to his apartment, eyes darting towards the dog in amusement as the owner attempted to pull the Labrador Retriever inside their apartment. Once Yuuri was inside his own apartment, he took off his shoes and jacket and went immediately to the bathroom.

After washing his face, Yuuri looked up and stared blankly at the second toothbrush lying next to his own. It was clear that the toothbrush was used often. Yuuri let out a weary sigh and picked it up, analyzing it.

_“I think we should take a break and start focusing more on skating. Let’s not contact each other for awhile.”_

His ex’s words echoed in his head. Yuuri narrowed his eyes at the toothbrush and scoffed at the dismissive excuse and tossed the toothbrush into the trash can. His ex-boyfriend was full of utter crap.

For awhile? That was bullshit. Yuuri was under no delusions that their relationship would later continue. It has only been a few days since Yuuri has broken up with his boyfriend. They were an on-off relationship but Yuuri was certain that this time it was officially over.

All his ex’s personal items were gone from his apartment. His ex-boyfriend was probably on his way back to Switzerland. It was impossible for them to be together from the start. Two competitors living under one roof must’ve been too much.

Being in a relationship for six years with Christophe Giacometti was long enough.

Yuuri left the bathroom and went through the cabinets under his TV. Then, he squinted his eyes and reached for the black console that was hidden in the back.

Oh, it was Chris’ playstation. Seriously? He left that here, too? Yuuri was definitely getting rid of it.

Frowning, Yuuri shifted the console in his hands. It looked to be in pretty good quality. He stared at it in consideration. Maybe he could sell it for a good price. If Yuuri claimed it was Chris’ playstation on eBay, he wondered if it’ll go for a higher price.

Chris did win the last Grand Prix Final after all. There must be plenty of fans that would love to purchase anything that belonged to him.

Yuuri placed it back inside the cabinet.

They both knew their relationship wasn’t heading anywhere after letting it run its natural course. It was just that they didn’t know how to end it after being together for so long. But it was about time they broke it off.

Yuuri went to sit in his desk in his bedroom and opened his laptop. He was lost in thought as he skimmed through the article for the group project, making small corrections here and there.

It had only been a few days since Chris had left. But the more that Yuuri thought about it, the more he realized that the breakup was long overdue. Even though Chris was the one who dumped him, Yuuri felt relieved.

He didn’t know how much he wanted it to be over. It was too much work being with his ex-boyfriend anyways. With elements such as school, money and skating factoring in, a love life was just adding more into the stress.

Yuuri will be fine. He’ll be more than fine without Chris in his life.

With a yawn, Yuuri stretched back and smiled in accomplishment. He was done with making edits. Yuuri spun around in his seat, getting ready to leave his seat when he spotted a dog collar on top of his drawer. His chest panged sadly at the sight of it.

It was a red collar with a bow tie attached to it. The dog collar once belonged to Vicchan but then he passed away. He had his sister deliver the collar in remembrance of his precious dog. Since Vicchan died, Yuuri spent his days mostly depressed.

Vicchan wasn’t allowed to live with him in Detroit because Chris was allergic to dogs. His ex-boyfriend also preferred cats a lot more as well. Yuuri wasn’t a fan of them because of the amount of scratches he received over his interactions with felines.

Both Yuuri and Chris came to decision to not own any pets since their tastes in pets clearly clashed with each other.

But now Yuuri was single and free to do whatever he wanted to do. The image of poodles flashed in his head and Yuuri flushed in excitement. Maybe he can adopt another Toy Poodle again. It’ll definitely help him liven up since he’s been acting so dead these days.

He could finally be with a poodle again. Yuuri smiled sappily, envisioning a brown poodle being twirled around in his hands with hearts flashing around them. This poodle will sleep with him, eat with him, cuddle with him and cherish him in a way that even Chris didn’t.

Ah, Yuuri was going to adopt a puppy and he was going to take it on plenty of walks and breathe in the poodle’s fur-infested air.

Yuuri suddenly blinked. That just reminded him…

How was the Siberian Husky doing?

Yuuri went on Twitter, looking for the same post of the dog. There was a lot of comments now but none were good news. It seemed like the dog still hasn’t found a home yet. There were people wishing they could but there was no luck.

Poor thing. Nobody must’ve showed up to adopt him yet. It was probably difficult for a dog of his size to find a home, considering how huge and slightly intimidating he looked in the photo.

 

_Is there anyone in Detroit who could foster him? We’d really appreciate it…_

 

Yuuri stared at the comment, placing a finger on his mouth in thought. Then, a small smile grew on his face, the decision already made in his mind.

He was going to adopt Viktor.

 

\---

 

There was a massive dog in his backseat.

Yuuri glimpsed at the Siberian Husky from his rear-view mirror, watching with interest when the dog’s sharp blue eyes stared back into his. The Husky was truly a beautiful dog with its thick white and gray fur, along with its self-assured posture. Viktor already had a red collar that was provided by the shelter.

“We’re almost home, Viktor.”

Yuuri said, noticing the way Viktor perked his ears and stared at him with attentiveness. It didn’t take much for Yuuri to notice how intelligent Viktor was with the way he looked at Yuuri with understanding.

“You must be overwhelmed by the sudden move but I think you’ll like it here more than the shelter.” Yuuri smiled at the dog, who only looked back at him seriously. “Just look at how calm you are riding the car like a big boy! Let’s be good friends.”

Viktor didn’t bark in response but only continued looking at Yuuri solemnly. His light blue eyes almost looking as if it belonged to a human with the amount of intellect filled in the dog’s gaze.

 

\---

 

At the apartment, Viktor sat in front of him compliantly. Yuuri tilted his head, staring down at the dog in thought. It has been awhile since Yuuri has last taken care of a pet. In fact, it has been years.

Viktor wasn’t giving away anything on what he was wanting, only sitting on the floor obediently.

“Hmm…” Yuuri murmured contemplatively, wondering when the dog had last eaten. “Are you hungry, Viktor?”

At the words, Viktor wagged his long, bushy tail swiftly. Yuuri widened his brown eyes in surprise. Viktor was able to understand him pretty well. That was pretty good.

“I don’t have anything for a dog your size though. Let me go get something from the vet.” Yuuri said, making his way towards the front door. Viktor trailed after him, causing Yuuri to tilt his head in response.

Viktor must’ve wanted to come with him.

“Aw, don’t worry, I’m not leaving you!” Yuuri tried to shut the door but Viktor peeked his head out with a whimper, causing Yuuri’s heart to melt. He sent a soft look to Viktor and rubbed the top of his head affectionately. “It’ll only be a few minutes.”

Viktor only pushed against his hand in an attempt to follow Yuuri out. Yuuri laughed slightly at the action, only pushing back gently until Viktor was behind the door.

“I know, I know. It must be strange being in a new environment, right? I promise I’ll be back as soon as I get your food.”

At that, Yuuri closed the door and left, hearing nothing but silence as he walked away.

It only took Yuuri about ten minutes to find food that was available for a dog of Viktor’s size. He tried to rush home, anxious to see if Viktor was doing well inside his apartment without him. Yuuri entered his passcode and walked into his apartment, reading the labels on the package of dog food he had bought.

It should be enough to last for a few days. But Viktor was pretty big and could probably chow down on the entire thing in one go.

“Viktor…” Yuuri called out, closing the door. “Viktor, where did you g-”

Yuuri froze, brown eyes widening, before the bag of dog food in hands fell to the floor with a loud thud. He gaped at the sight in front of him.

There was an attractive, _naked_ man in front of him and the _naked_ man was sitting on his couch with his legs propped up on Yuuri’s coffee table!

Did Yuuri forget to mention that this man was _nude_?!

“You’re back?”

The man asked, his intense blue eyes gazing into Yuuri, who continued to gawk at the man’s _naked,_ well-sculpted chest. Yuuri stared up and down at the man in horror, who had one hand up in the air while the other hand hid his groin. The silver hair that the man had caught Yuuri’s attention as well, amongst _other_ things.

“What’d you get? Here, let me see.” The man made a motion with his hand, gesturing for Yuuri to come closer. Yuuri only gasped at the notion and took a step backwards.

Where did this psycho come from and how did he break in?

When the man stood from the chair, Yuuri shuffled closer to the front door, his brown eyes only continuing to grow wide. The silver-haired man bent down and picked up the dog food which caused Yuuri to snap out of his daze.

The police! Yuuri needed to call the police!

Yuuri glanced towards the door and away from the man’s _nude_ body and his now unshielded nether regions. The man only continued to speak.

“Oh. I don’t really eat stuff like this.” Yuuri was barely able to register the words with the panic that was racing throughout his body. He needed to get out and away from this odd, naked stranger.

Also, where the hell was Viktor?

Yuuri grabbed the doorknob, body trembling with terror. He twisted the handle and was about to pull it open when a shout caught his attention.

“Hey, wait!” The man yelled. “Yuuri! Wait!”

Yuuri blinked at the declaration of his name and whipped his head back, staring at the strange man that was now behind him. Yuuri only moved closer to the door, feeling uncomfortable at how near the man was to him.

“Who the hell are you?” Yuuri demanded fearfully, narrowing his eyes at the man. The display of anger must’ve confused the man since he only blinked perplexedly in reply.

“Huh? It’s me. Don’t you recognize me?” Yuuri glared back mistrustingly at the question. “I’m Viktor.”

Yuuri furrowed his eyes in confusion and squinted at the man.

“You’re Vik… What? Viktor?!” Yuuri replied hesitantly. He eyed the man doubtfully and proceeded to question him. “Where’d Viktor go?! What’d you do with him?”

The man raised his arms innocently and stepped closer. Yuuri hunched closer to the door and continued to glare, which caused the man to frown at him sadly. Yuuri didn’t understand what was going on at all and why he looked so dejected with Yuuri’s defensive attitude.

“Yuuri, please, listen to me.”

There it was again. The nude man said his name for the second time in a row.

Yuuri’s hand inched towards the umbrella that always laid next to his front door before lifting it up with a shout.

“H-How do you know me?!” Yuuri attempted to say threateningly, with the umbrella raised about his head. He then swung it down with force, watching the startled man grab his arm when Yuuri attempted to bash the man’s head. “Where’s my dog, you creep?!”

“Calm down!” The silver-haired man growled, his blue eyes narrowing in irritation. Both of his hands were holding onto the umbrella before the other reached for his hand. Yuuri yelped at the touch and tried to pull away with a snarl of his own.

“Let go, asshole!” Yuuri yelled back, feeling panicked as he attempted to grab the umbrella back from the man’s grip. Instead of listening, the man held tighter, determination now seeping into his own steely blue glare.

“Listen to me!”

“Y-You fucking creep! Aaah!” Yuuri shrieked in fright when he started to tumble backwards with the man falling with him. He started to yell at the man desperately. “Let gooo..! Whoa!”

Yuuri fell to the floor with a loud smack and groaned when he felt the weight of the nude man on his back. He had face-planted right onto the floor and it was painful. The man’s hands clutched both of Yuuri’s hands tightly and Yuuri was trapped between the naked man and the floor.

The man shuffled a little and Yuuri flushed hotly, feeling every part of the man’s body against his backside. The stranger began whispering into his ear and a hand was then placed onto his head, causing Yuuri to redden further.

“Yuuri, calm down, I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but…”

“Hey.” Yuuri said, before turning back to glance at the man. “Get your hands off me and get off me. Now.”

Yuuri demanded and placed his warm face back towards the floor in mortification. It didn’t help Yuuri could feel everything. It didn’t help at all.

“I don’t need your naked bits dangling all over me.”

The man pushed himself off from Yuuri and frowned.

“Then would you calm down and listen?”

“Okay, fine. Just get off…”

Anything to get the man away from him. The man was too close and personal for Yuuri’s own comfort level. Just as the man began to move further away from him, an idea struck Yuuri and it had to do with the lamp in front of him.

“Okay, Yuuri, so as I was saying. You’ll find it hard to believe but I...”  

The stranger began to speak and without warning, Yuuri grabbed the lamp and bashed it into the man’s head. A loud whimper reached Yuuri’s ears, making him feel slightly guilty. He stared at the man who was clutching his head tightly with tear-filled eyes.

Then, Yuuri blinked in shock at the sight of a red collar on the man’s neck. It was the same, exact collar that Viktor wore.

“What?” Yuuri said in confusion, studying the collar closer, ignoring the pained whines that continued to fall out of the man’s mouth. “That’s… Viktor’s collar.”

The man glanced up in irritation, still grasping the bump on his head.

“I told you! I _am_ Viktor!”

 _Viktor_ declared with a grumble and he stared at Yuuri sternly. Then, he leaned in closer to Yuuri and whispered secretively.

“Ever heard of werewolves?”

Yuuri blanched and stared wide-eyed at the solemn blue eyes.

_“Huh?!”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing but nudity and cuddles in this chapter. Enjoy! :)

“Werewolves?”

Yuuri scrunched up his face in disbelief, not trusting the words coming from the man one bit. It had to be complete nonsense. There was no way werewolves exist. That was the type of things you’d only hear in movies.

With a mistrustful scowl, Yuuri gripped the lamp in his hands tighter and narrowed his eyes at the nude man. The man claiming to be Viktor only pouted at the gesture.

“Fine, hold onto that lamp if it’ll mean you’ll listen to me.” Viktor crossed his arms and huffed at him. “You’re the one who brought me here in the first place but whatever, you’ll believe me once it’s morning.”

Yuuri frowned at Viktor and arched his eyebrow in confusion.

“In the morning?”

“When the sun rises, I’m a dog but once the sun sets, I turn into a human.” Viktor explained, looking dead serious. “I'm half human and half wolf. A werewolf. To be more precise, I'm a descendent of the Siberian werewolf.”

Yuuri widened his eyes in perplexion.

Half wolf? He had thought Viktor was a husky, not a wolf.

Even though Yuuri wasn’t a huge expert on animals, he was certain that wolves were a lot larger than huskies. Yuuri wasn’t sure how the whole werewolf thing worked but he was starting to figure out that transforming into a dog didn’t mean he was _actually_ going to be a domestic dog.

Thinking about it now, Viktor was more enormous than he had expected a husky to be. When Yuuri had picked Viktor up from the shelter, the size of Viktor slightly overwhelmed him.

“But the people at the shelter said you were a Siberian Husky.” Yuuri said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Viktor only shook his head in disappointment at the assumption. With an exasperated sigh, he began to speak.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. Humans often confuse Siberian werewolves for huskies and raise them as pets.”

Viktor frowned and scratched his chin. He continued to talk, appearing disheartened when he spoke of people’s inability to pick apart dogs from wolves.

“They mistake us ferocious beasts for cute sled dogs and think we’ll make loving companions… It’s stupid, really. Most humans can’t tell the difference between dogs and wolves.”

Ferocious beasts?

Yuuri frowned and tried to imagine a more savage looking Viktor in his mind. He attempted to visualize a vicious Viktor baring his teeth at him. However, the thought of Viktor appearing threatening only seemed unbelievable to him.

Especially after remembering the cute picture of Viktor on Twitter where he was staring up at the camera with his tongue lolled out. It was adorable and Yuuri just couldn’t help but recall how cuddly Viktor had appeared. The endearing photo was what caused Yuuri to adopt Viktor in the first place.

Viktor being a snuggly husky was more convincing than him being a wild wolf.

But now that he thought about it, what was a Siberian wolf doing in Detroit? Shouldn’t Viktor be in Siberia where he belonged? Maybe he was brought to the United States for a reason and couldn’t find his way back home.

“So what’s a Siberian… wolf doing in Detroit, Michigan? Why aren’t you in Russia? It makes no sense.” Yuuri asked, sounding almost accusatory.

Viktor laughed sheepishly at the question, rubbing his hands together nervously. Then, he flashed Yuuri a wide, dazzling smile. Yuuri only stared back blankly, waiting impatiently for a reply.

“Well, I only heard about the Siberia part from my guardian. I haven’t actually been there. I’m actually from Minnesota.”

Minnesota? That was a couple states away. Then that meant Viktor was born in the United States, despite his ethnic roots. However, the wide forehead Viktor bore, along with his blue eyes and light hair indicated his Russian background.

So that meant Viktor traveled across a few states before he was taken into the shelter. Yuuri supposed it was impressive Viktor made it that far before he was stopped. He needed to hear more before deciding whether Viktor was telling him the entire truth. Yuuri continued to look at Viktor questionably, prompting Viktor to continue on with his story.

“He said there were other werewolves living in Siberia so I wanted to go check the place out but then I got dragged to the shelter on my way.”

Yuuri tried to picture Viktor bowing down to his werewolf family as a wolf before leaving them. His guardian must’ve been waving farewell to Viktor tearfully. It was a funny image in Yuuri’s head and was most likely not the actual situation but Yuuri enjoyed envisioning it either way.

“I took the bus and made it to Indiana but people there wouldn’t leave a dog alone…”

Viktor looked frustrated and frowned grumpily. Well, if Viktor was traveling as a dog, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was stopped by strangers. People were always distracted by cute animals and an adorable wolf like Viktor was bound to be interrupted in his journey.

“I couldn’t even make it to Michigan but at least the people at the shelter transferred me over to Detroit. They gave me a place to stay and food.” Viktor sighed heavily, causing Yuuri to slant his head and stare at Viktor in thought. “And well, you know the rest…”

Well, that must’ve been the part where Yuuri discovered Viktor through the Twitter post, resulting in him adopting the Siberian Husky… who actually turned out to be a grown ass man. This was officially the weirdest night in Yuuri’s entire life.

“Yuuri…”

Viktor’s expression turned serious and he looked at Yuuri imploringly. Yuuri stared back in captivation, mesmerized by the pleading blue eyes. It almost felt like he was looking at a puppy's eyes. Technically, Yuuri supposed he must’ve been staring into a dog’s eyes, considering that Viktor was a werewolf.

“I understand you must be startled since you’ve never seen a werewolf. But I’ve never seen other werewolves either. That’s why I want to go to Siberia and find people like me.”

Yuuri was more than just startled. He was perplexed by the revelation. It almost felt like he would wake up any moment now to discover it was all a dream. But if that were the case, then this was the most realistic dream ever.

“I’m a bit lost right now but I’ll find my way to get there.” Viktor continued to ramble pleadingly and looked at Yuuri with hopeful eyes. Yuuri only swallowed heavily at the expectant gaze. “However, until that happens, will you help me out?”

Viktor began to move from his seated position on the floor. Yuuri gasped quietly and clutched the lamp closer to his chest when Viktor stepped near him. Then, Viktor brushed a hand through his silver hair, shining like the luminous models Yuuri would see on Vogue magazines.

“I just need a place to stay for a night or two so can I stay here?”

Yuuri gulped nervously, feeling his face reddened as he inspected Viktor’s naked body, focusing a moment too long on Viktor’s naughty bits. Then, he looked over Viktor’s muscular frame again for a second or third time before finally focusing on Viktor’s face.

The man was smiling brightly at him, the air around him still gleaming in confidence. By the satisfied expression on Viktor’s face, he must’ve noticed Yuuri checking him out. Yuuri felt himself sweat anxiously as he tried to think of what to say.

He quickly glanced around his apartment tensely. There was enough room for two people but Yuuri didn’t know if he wanted tell Viktor that.

“H-Here? Well…” Yuuri stuttered, before hesitantly saying. “I-I guess.”

Viktor only grinned wide in response, appearing to shimmer even more intensely. Yuuri squinted his eyes at the beaming man, wanting to shield his eyes from Viktor’s shining aura.

Too bright…

 

\---

 

Yuuri sat on the couch with his arms hugging his body in comfort, pursing his lips together anxiously. The sound of the shower was loud from the bathroom as Yuuri waited for Viktor from the living room. There could be a chance Yuuri was actually dreaming. Now that he thought about it, Yuuri didn’t sleep until late the previous day.

It could be sleep deprivation but the humming in the shower was proving him wrong.

There was also the possibility that the man in his bathroom was actually delusional and his husky was actually somewhere outside of his apartment. Maybe Yuuri should call the police before it was too late? However, his thoughts of calling the police went down the drain when Viktor walked out of the bathroom with Yuuri’s green bathrobe, drying his wet hair with a towel.

“That felt great!” Viktor exclaimed with a sigh of relief. Yuuri only stared blankly at the man, who walked into the living room with a content smile. “I haven’t taken a good shower like that in a long time.”

Yuuri glanced back to the laptop that was lying on a stool in front of him. He was working on an assignment for one of his courses. He tried not to pay attention to Viktor but when the man walked towards the couch Yuuri was sitting on, he couldn’t help but look up in bemusement.

“Can I sit here?”

Viktor smiled widely and Yuuri’s eyes widened in disbelief, before tensing up in his seat.

“Huh?”

Apparently Viktor took Yuuri’s incredulous cry as a word for approval and seated himself on the couch. However, instead of sitting normally next to Yuuri, Viktor rested his head on Yuuri’s lap and laid down, taking up the entire space. Yuuri stared down at Viktor with surprise, who had closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Then, Yuuri had raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at his _other_ solo couch which was empty. Why couldn’t Viktor sit by himself? There was plenty of furniture for the man to sit in. There was no reason for Viktor to invade his personal space.

Yuuri felt himself sweat nervously and stiffen up when Viktor snuggled into his leg. Viktor only continued to look pleased as he laid there peacefully. Yuuri couldn’t stand the close contact anymore and tried to say something.

“Um.” Yuuri stated softly, frowning at Viktor in slight disapproval. “Do you have to be so close?”

Viktor opened his eyes and looked at Yuuri innocently.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I just like to cuddle.” Viktor stated nonchalantly and rubbed his cheek onto Yuuri’s thigh as if to prove his point, making Yuuri flush slightly.

Well, that was obvious from the start. Yuuri probably shouldn’t worry about such a small thing in the first place. Who cares if Viktor likes to cuddle? From the man’s vibrant demeanor, it wasn’t like he would pose a threat to Yuuri.

A short glimpse at Viktor showed the man spreading his legs on the couch in Yuuri’s small green bathrobe as Viktor tried to make himself comfortable. Yuuri gaped in shock at the display and reddened.

“Close your legs!” Yuuri squawked loudly, brown eyes wide. Viktor flinched in surprise at the loud shout.

“Huh?” Viktor looked down at himself and frowned, probably noticing how his genitals were out in the open with his current pose. With a huff, he closed his legs and arranged himself into a fetal position.

With an exasperated groan, Yuuri looked back at his laptop in dismay. There was no way Yuuri was going to survive living with Viktor with all the nasty surprises Viktor seemed determined on showing him. He was definitely calling the cops as soon as he gets the chance.

A pat to his thigh interrupted his thoughts and Yuuri looked down to see Viktor smiling at him. Yuuri smiled stiffly back at the man, feeling startled by the fondle.

“Yuuri, you still don’t believe me, huh?” Viktor asked curiously, before lifting his hand up towards Yuuri’s face. “Just wait until sunrise and you’ll see I’m not lying.”

Then, Viktor lifted himself up from the couch and furrowed his eyebrows together in worry. Yuuri looked at him silently, confused by the sudden movement.

“Or just go to bed. I bet you’re tired.”

Viktor said worriedly and glanced at the clock on the wall. Yuuri followed his gaze, seeing that it was about ten o'clock. It was getting close to the time Yuuri would usually go to bed. However, Yuuri tried his best to conceal his exhaustion as he looked at Viktor with mistrust.

“Are you kidding me?” Yuuri laughed incredulously. “Would you sleep with a stranger in your house? No way. I’m going to work on my assignments all night.”

There was plenty of homework Yuuri could finish tonight. This was probably the best decision for him to make. There was no way Yuuri was going to leave himself to the disposal of a stranger if he fell asleep. He didn't want to show any signs of vulnerability. If Viktor was truly telling the truth, Yuuri was going to see it with his own eyes during sunrise.

“And please, can you move over?” Yuuri lifted his hand and gestured the man to move away from him. “You’re causing me immense discomfort on every possible level.”

Viktor pouted and looked dejectedly at him. He looked at Yuuri with the same imploring eyes from earlier and stared hopefully at him as he said in a miserable voice.

“But then I won’t feel cozy.”

Yuuri stared at Viktor flatly.

“You have to be kidding me?” Yuuri released a sigh and glanced over the blankets he had on his solo couch. Then, with a resolved look, Yuuri picked up his laptop and stood up. “If you’re cold, I’ll give you a blanket so get off me.”

“Aww…”

Yuuri eventually lended Viktor his blue blanket and moved to his desk to do his work. Viktor stayed on the couch with a resigned expression and laid there sullenly. Within minutes, Yuuri was focused on his work and typing away on his laptop.

However, it didn’t take long for Viktor to start shuffling around in discomfort. Yuuri looked up from his laptop to stare impassively at the squirming body from under the blanket. Viktor only continued to shift around, whimpering loudly in distress.

Rubbing his face tiredly, Yuuri glared at his laptop screen. He couldn’t concentrate at all with Viktor distracting him. He should’ve had this finished a long time ago but instead, Yuuri was scrambling to complete it with nothing but disruptions interrupting him.

A sudden grasp to Yuuri’s leg caused him to yelp in shock. He looked down to the floor in terror and sighed in relief when he saw Viktor holding his leg. Yuuri placed a hand against his chest, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat.

“Why’re you back here?” Yuuri stated softly, staring wearily at Viktor.

“Mhhm…” Viktor murmured, before squeezing Yuuri’s leg tightly. Then, he started stroking his face against Yuuri’s leg. “I wanna be here with you, Yuuri. I hate sleeping by myself. I get lonely.”

Yuuri looked dully at Viktor, raising an eyebrow. Despite being half-human, Viktor sure was as affectionate as a dog. The way he was embracing Yuuri’s legs conveyed to him how starved Viktor was for Yuuri’s attention.

With an annoyed groan, Yuuri grabbed his laptop once again and pulled a face at Viktor. There was no way Yuuri was going to finish his assignments if he didn’t comply to Viktor’s wishes.

“I can’t get anything done.” Yuuri grumbled irritably as he tried to yank his leg out of Viktor’s grip unsuccessfully. Viktor only held on tighter as if Yuuri’s limb was his lifeline. “Fine. Go sleep on the bed and I’ll work next to you.”

At the words, Viktor brightened up but he didn’t move an inch when Yuuri ordered for Viktor to move to the bed. He only smiled happily and continued clutching onto Yuuri’s leg. Yuuri frowned in aggravation, feeling a headache starting to form.

“Cut it out!”

 

\---

 

**_3 A.M._ **

While Yuuri worked on his homework, Viktor laid to his side and watched Yuuri with interest. They were both sprawled out on Yuuri’s bed. It was finally calm and Yuuri was able to complete his school assignments with focus. Even Viktor’s intense gaze didn’t deter Yuuri from his laptop.

As Yuuri finished up his last assignment, he started to think back about his irked attitude towards Viktor. Now that he was thinking about it, Yuuri might've been a bit too harsh towards Viktor. It didn’t feel right for Yuuri to have shouted at Viktor earlier, even if he was stressed out about his work.

“Viktor, I know you’re going through a lot, but put yourself in my shoes for a minute.”

Yuuri started to say in some form of an apology. When Viktor didn’t respond, Yuuri decided to continue speaking.

“This is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me. If I told anyone I let a stranger spend the night at my apartment because he insisted he was my dog, they’d probably think I was out of my mind and I’d probably agree.”

He still didn’t know whether he was still imagining the whole thing. This full grown man was supposed to be his sweet husky? It was such a strange idea to wrap his head around. Yuuri could only keep wondering when he was going to wake up. If Yuuri ever told any of his friends about this, they’d definitely stare at him like he was insane.

However, despite all that, Yuuri couldn’t leave this pitiful stranger alone. For heaven’s sake, Viktor was naked when Yuuri first entered his apartment and if he didn’t have clothes, then he would certainly not have any money. Viktor would only suffer on his journey to Siberia.

“But I can’t just kick out a penniless person out of the street and my dog is also gone… So I have no choice but to take your word for it.”

Viktor was silent as Yuuri spoke, his sharp blue eyes analyzing Yuuri. With Viktor’s focused gaze on him, Yuuri was reminded of when he first picked up Viktor from the shelter. The calm Siberian Husky had studied him with an intuitive stare, as if assessing whether Yuuri was a good person or not.

“That’s why I tried to keep you home when you were heading out to get my food. You should’ve waited a bit. Then, maybe you would’ve seen me turn into a human,” Viktor quietly said, his thoughtful, intense expression turning soft. “Anyways, thanks… for not kicking me out.”

Yuuri tilted his head at the appreciative smile that Viktor conveyed. There was more to Viktor than Yuuri had expected. However, Viktor was still as close to him as he was before. He was definitely an affectionate man.

With a tired sigh, Yuuri motioned Viktor away.

“How about showing your appreciation by respecting my personal space, then?” Yuuri tried to say kindly, keeping his expression blank when Viktor looked at him with bewilderment. “I don’t usually let strangers sleep in my bed. Scoot over.”

“Why do you keep pushing me away?” Viktor grumbled, frowning sourly at Yuuri. However, he complied and shuffled away with a sullen mutter.

If Viktor wasn’t such a cuddly person, then Yuuri wouldn’t have told Viktor to move away in the first place. Unfortunately, Viktor was the type of person that liked to snuggle. Yuuri didn’t even share a bed with his friends, much less strangers. The only person Yuuri had ever bothered to cuddle with was his ex-boyfriend but Chris was no longer in the picture.

“What kind of question is that? I don’t want to cuddle with some strange man.”

Yuuri explained, hoping the man would understand but Viktor only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and shook his head in disagreement at Yuuri’s words.

“But earlier today, you pet me everywhere! You even touched my ears and my tongue!”

At the remark, Yuuri blushed and looked away from Viktor’s perplexed face. He must’ve been referring back to Yuuri meeting him at the animal shelter where Yuuri had hugged Viktor close and cooed compliments at the husky.

Yuuri almost facepalmed himself as he reflected back to the incident.

_“He needs a bath…”_

One of the workers had told him when Yuuri dropped to his knees and stared at the Siberian Husky with adoring eyes. He had felt himself tremble in joy at seeing the cute dog and did nothing but embrace and smooch Viktor for at least a whole ten minutes.

 _“Oh my gosh! Aren’t you the sweetest? Please come home with me and love me!”_ Yuuri had squealed lovingly at Viktor and attempted to pull Viktor even closer to him but Viktor had not budged.

Viktor had only stared silently at Yuuri, before glancing at the worker in displeasure. The husky must’ve not wanted to go home with Yuuri who had nuzzled the dog for a long time before calming down. The dog’s disapproving eyes only softened once Yuuri had brought him into his car but Viktor continued observing him with sharp blue eyes.

Yuuri coughed awkwardly at the memory and tried to excuse his overbearing behavior with confidence.

“Well, you were a dog then. You can’t expect me to do the same thing when you’re a… person.”

Yuuri glimpsed over at Viktor, trying to imagine himself doing the same with Viktor as a human but he only cringed internally. He couldn’t believe he had said all those mushy words to Viktor when he was a dog. That was just embarrassing.

“Isn’t it usually the other way around? Don’t you usually bring other people home? Like maybe a girlfriend?”

Yuuri went silent, not exactly sure what he should say in response. He didn’t exactly bring people home, nor was he the type of person to do so. The only person Yuuri had ever brought home was Chris and they had been in a relationship. Chris was also Yuuri’s longest and only relationship. 

So no, he didn’t _usually_ bring other people home, much less a girl.

“I like men…” Yuuri blurted out, before gasping out silently. He did _not_ just say that in front of Viktor. It shouldn’t even matter to Yuuri whether Viktor knew he like men in the first place. “Why am I even telling you all this? Just forget it, all right?”

A soft touch to his back caused Yuuri to falter in his panicked rant. Yuuri whipped his eyes to Viktor in surprise, who was staring at him calmly.

“What’s wrong with that? I like men, too.”

Yuuri gaped at Viktor with a dumbfounded expression. The silver-haired man only continued to touch him in reassurance. Viktor must’ve misunderstood him. There was no way he liked men the same way Yuuri liked them.

“Do you even know what I’m talking about?”

“Sure.”

Yuuri frowned and shook his head, sighing exasperatedly at the casual response.

“When I say I like men, I mean-”

“The girlfriend part was just a guess.” Viktor closed his eyes contently and smiled in satisfaction. He looked extremely pleased to hear Yuuri’s preference towards men. “So I was wrong. You bring home guys. That’s great.”

Yuuri looked down in surprise, before studying Viktor who began drifting off to sleep. He’s never heard such a response like Viktor’s in his entire life. Yuuri couldn’t help but feel thankful about Viktor’s nonchalant reply about it.

It made Yuuri feel normal.

Yuuri brought a hand down to Viktor’s hair, briefly hesitating, before he started to gently stroke Viktor’s gray hair. Viktor continued to slumber, remaining unperturbed by Yuuri’s tender caresses to his head.

Viktor was the first person he said this to upon the first meeting. It usually took Yuuri months before he told his friends he favored men more than women which was why Yuuri was so glad to hear that sort of reply from Viktor.

He shut his laptop closed, observing Viktor who snored softly on his side of Yuuri’s bed, before placing his device away.

Yuuri nodded off to sleep easily, barely noticing when Viktor decided to cuddle closer to him throughout the night. Eventually, Viktor had his legs and arms wrapped firmly around Yuuri, as if he were a child embracing their teddy bear. Yuuri continued to slumber, feeling warm and comfortable in Viktor’s hold.

It wasn’t long before Yuuri was being shaken awake by Viktor, who was calling out for him loudly. 

“Yuuri! Wake up! Yuuri!”

In response, Yuuri grumbled tiredly at the hands stirring him up from his sleep.

“What’s going on…?”

Yuuri rasped wearily, opening his fatigued eyes to the blurry sight of a dog lying on his lap. The Siberian Husky stared at him with keen eyes, the same blue eyes that Viktor had. Yuuri looked at Viktor in disbelief, instantly feeling awake. The sunlight pouring in through his window binds only proved Viktor’s case even further.

Last night wasn’t a dream?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm really surprised by the response this story has gotten. I'm actually not sure what to do with this story to be honest but I'm probably going to follow the original plotline of the manhwa for the first season and end this story there. However, I will be adding a Yuri on Ice twist with all the ice skating and stuff you saw the first chapter. Make it more similar to the YoI universe.
> 
> I'll be back soon with the next chapter! I'd also love to hear your responses! Until next time! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Yuuri slung his backpack over his shoulders and walked towards the door. The sound of Viktor’s paws tapped across the floor, causing Yuuri to glance back stiffly. Aware of Yuuri’s attention on him, Viktor started wagging his tail happily from his position.

“Uh…” Yuuri began dumbly. At a loss for words, Yuuri continued looking awkwardly at Viktor, who stared up at him with inquisitive, blue eyes. 

What was Yuuri exactly supposed to do now? He sort of thought he was going to wake up and excuse his dreams for everything that had happened the previous day. He didn’t actually expect to wake up to Viktor calling his name or a Siberian Husky on his lap. 

Now that he was leaving for school, Yuuri didn’t know what to do with Viktor. Yuuri wasn’t even certain what a werewolf did in their free time. He didn't bother to ask Viktor last night as well and he didn’t exactly expect Viktor to lie around all day and lick himself in strange places like Vicchan had. Maybe Viktor would be smart enough to know how to work a TV. 

“I have classes today so I guess you should just take it easy for today.” Yuuri mumbled, while gesturing towards his living room. “Watch some TV shows or something. I won’t be back until late tonight.”

Yuuri furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Viktor dubiously. By the time he would come back, it would be nighttime, meaning Viktor would most likely be human again by sunset. That would mean Yuuri seeing him nude for a second time. He shuddered in horror at the thought.

To be honest, he didn't want to see that at all.

“Also…” Yuuri started out sternly. “By the time I come back, you better be wearing clothes. There’s a drawer in my room and garments around your size in the bottom shelf.” 

A distressed whine came from Viktor, causing Yuuri to roll his eyes. Viktor could deal with wearing clothes whenever he was a human. There was no way Viktor could live his life without putting on a single article of clothing, nor would Yuuri tolerate it. 

“You better be dressed. I’m serious!” Yuuri threatened and slammed the door on a whimpering Viktor.

 

\---

 

Classes were simple enough. Yuuri had finished early today when his professor from his Media Law & Ethics class dismissed them fifteen minutes sooner. He had the option of returning home earlier but the thought of hanging around with Viktor as a dog was kind of strange.

Yuuri checked the time on his phone. It was nearly six o’ clock. He had enough time to talk to Celestino before he had to train his other students. Yuuri gripped his phone tightly in anxiety and tried to pull together the courage to text his coach.

He needed to approach the issue before it was too late. Yuuri had to tell Celestino about his desire to retire. He should’ve told Celestino sooner but he was always too scared to approach the subject. 

_Can I talk to you at the cafe shop at 6:10? It’s important._

Yuuri analyzed his text message for at least a minute before sending it to his coach. It was good enough. Celestino wasn’t the type to dismiss a text from Yuuri so he expected the reply to be quick. 

A loud ring from his phone startled him. Yuuri looked down at his screen to find Celestino had responded.

_Sure. I’ll see you there._

Yuuri swallowed nervously and tightened his grip on his backpack. He needed to make his way to the campus’ cafe store then. Yuuri avoided thinking about it on the walk to the shop. However, as soon as Yuuri seated himself down, he started panicking.

How would Celestino take his news? Surely, he would be upset. 

The moment Celestino walked into the cafe shop, Yuuri had tensed up in dread. His mind started scrambling around in a panic and Yuuri clenched his teeth in worry, knowing he should’ve assembled the words of his news beforehand.

After peering around the place, Celestino finally spotted him and flashed him a friendly smile as he made his way over to Yuuri, causing him to stand up stiffly to greet his coach. 

“Celestino.” 

Yuuri bowed politely and flashed his coach a tight smile. He wasn’t sure if he was prepared to tell Celestino about his decision to quit ice skating. However, Yuuri knew he needed to tell Celestino soon, especially with the World Figure Skating Championships coming up in March. 

“Yuuri!” His coach said brightly, before taking a seat across from him, prompting Yuuri to do the same. “You have something to tell me?”

It’s straight to business then… 

“I..” 

Yuuri began, before swallowing nervously. He was tense and his mouth kept opening but none of the words were falling out of his mouth. Celestino kept looking at him with patience but to Yuuri, it was starting to look like irritation. Clenching his hands, Yuuri blurted out fearfully. 

“I-I want to retire from ice skating and focus on my studies.”

In an instant, Yuuri could see how his words affected Celestino from the way his coach’s face tensed up with his smile dropping. Celestino stared at him with bewilderment, his eyebrows furrowing together in perplexion. 

The silence that followed right after was unbearable. Yuuri couldn’t handle the shame at the sight of Celestino’s stumped expression. The urge to apologize was relentless, the need to do so stabbing him repeatedly in his chest. 

“I’m sorry.” Yuuri choked out quietly, his hands trembling slightly. He was a disappointment to Celestino. He didn’t need to analyze Celestino further to understand how much of a letdown he was. 

He was useless. It was best if he left the sport before he did any more damage. 

“Yuuri. It’s fine.” Celestino tried to tell him reassuringly but Yuuri could see how dismayed his coach was. “I had an inkling that this was going to happen sooner or later.” 

The guilt kept eating away at him. It didn’t matter how determined Yuuri was to quit skating, the decision still hurt him. After all, he spent most of his life ice skating. Figure skating to Yuuri had been as much as a necessity as breathing. 

But now, Yuuri wanted to escape from the sport that did nothing but dragged him down to a dark, isolated hole of sorrow and regret. It just felt strange to finally quit after years of dedication.

Yuuri supposed it was the shame that prevented him from responding to his coach. However, contrary to Yuuri’s silence, Celestino began talking up a speech. 

“Just take care of yourself, alright? I’ll accept your decision but promise me you’ll think about returning. I know the death of your dog was devastating enough to make you botch your free skate badly at the Grand Prix Final, as well as the Four Continents but just know that I’ll be willing to take you back to prepare you for the World Championships if you decide to change your mind.” 

“Celestino…” Yuuri mumbled, not exactly certain on how to respond. However, it appeared as if his coach wasn’t done talking. 

“I know that you get a bit anxious sometimes but-”

“My decision has nothing to do with my anxiety.” Yuuri interrupted softly but he supposed he didn’t say it confidently enough because Celestino looked at him sympathetically, most likely detecting the lie in his words. Yuuri clenched his teeth at the look of pity and glared down irritably at his hands.

Of course Celestino thought it had to be his anxiety problems. Yuuri didn’t like acknowledging it but Celestino always brought it up with the _same_ worried expression he had now.

“Yuuri, I know it must be stressful now with you almost graduating, along with a number of other factors, and it must be skyrocketing your anxiety-”

“Celestino.” Yuuri interjected firmly, staring at Celestino unwaveringly. “It’s not that.”

Now that Yuuri has said his withdrawal from the sport, there was no way he was going to change his mind. Celestino might think he knows what was best for Yuuri but he didn’t.

“Okay. Fine.” 

Celestino responded doubtfully, finally looking resigned. Yuuri breathed out a sigh of relief but his chest still felt tight with concern. There was no way Celestino would ever want to talk to him after this. 

After all, Yuuri was a failure.

“I should leave. My students are most likely waiting for me.” After those words, Celestino was out of the cafe and Yuuri stared after him in a daze. Yuuri couldn’t exactly recall if his coach told him farewell. 

Yuuri wasn’t sure if he himself had said goodbye. 

 

\---

 

The sun had already set by the time Yuuri returned to his apartment. 

Yuuri could feel the exhaustion tugging away at him the moment he entered his apartment. Not even Viktor, who was now human and thankfully _clothed,_ was able to liven him back up. 

“Yuuri, you’re back!” 

Viktor said cheerfully, as he went to embrace Yuuri with a beaming smile, who stepped back in an effort to escape the hug. Unfortunately, Yuuri failed and was subjected to a tight hold from the werewolf. 

A nuzzle to his neck caused Yuuri to shriek at the coldness nudging at him. Viktor breathed in deeply, sniffing curiously at his nape, causing Yuuri to shudder at the freezing touch.

“Okay, enough!” 

Yuuri pushed Viktor away with a weak glare. He was not in the mood to deal with Viktor’s silly antics. His warm bed sounded much better than dealing with a hyperactive child. At Yuuri’s surly attitude, Viktor only huffed and crossed his arms, looking like a kid throwing a tantrum.  

“I can’t believe you left me alone all day. I’ve been bored… You should take me out tomorrow.” Viktor told him with a sulky pout, his blue eyes looking sullen. Yuuri stayed silent, refusing to feel guilty at Viktor’s attempt to make him feel remorseful. 

After it was clear that Yuuri wasn’t going to crumble under Viktor’s puppy dog stare, the grey-haired man’s eyes turned serious, looking much more like the adult he was. 

“Anyways, during _all_ that free time I had, I think I’ve finally made a plan on how I can make it to Russia.”

At the announcement, Yuuri stared at Viktor in curiosity. It hadn’t even been a day yet and Viktor had already made a plan. Yuuri hoped it wasn’t as bad as Viktor’s last idea. It obviously didn’t take Viktor far.

Especially since Viktor had ended up in the animal shelter. 

Viktor started to brighten up the moment he started speaking, illuminating with enthusiasm and hope as he told Yuuri his plan. However, Yuuri only felt puzzled at Viktor’s shallow, disorderly strategy. 

“So I’m going to continue travelling west until I make it to Maine? By day, I’ll just follow my sense of smell and at night, I could hitchhike or something. Then…” Viktor rubbed his chin in contemplation. “Take a plane to Russia? But I don’t have a passport… Maybe I could take a boat there.”

Yuuri could feel a headache forming at Viktor’s scheme. There were so many things that could go wrong from the hitchhiking to the making it to Siberia by boat. In fact, it was probably the worse plan Viktor could come up with. 

“That sounds dumb. You need to make a better plan that doesn’t sound as half-assed and dangerous.” Yuuri stated softly, before narrowing his eyes in concern. “You’ll probably find yourself stranded in the middle of the sea and starving before you make it halfway to Russia.”

“Here.” 

Yuuri reached for his backpack and grabbed his laptop. He handed it to Viktor, who held it with wide, intrigued eyes. 

“What?” 

Yuuri sighed, before staring at Viktor wearily. He didn’t think he was going to have to explain every single thing to Viktor. Viktor obviously needed more time to think out a more solid plan to make it to Siberia. He needed to do some more researching about traveling before leaving Michigan. 

“It’s a laptop. Do some research and relay to me a successful strategy. If you manage to come up with reasonable one where you end up in Siberia safely, maybe I’ll consider letting you leave.” 

“I could leave anytime I want.” 

Viktor said with a sullen grumble, most likely upset that his suggestion was shot down the drain. The dismayed frown on Viktor’s face was unlike the facial expressions Yuuri had seen on the man’s face the previous night. The agitation being expressed was something Yuuri wasn’t fond of. 

In Yuuri’s opinion, Viktor looked much more beautiful with a smile on his face. 

“I suppose you can but…” Yuuri walked closer to Viktor and used his hand to brush a gray strand of hair out of his blue eyes. He smiled gently at Viktor, trying to convey the concern he felt for the werewolf. “I don’t want you harmed just because you were being stupid.”

Then, Yuuri pulled away with a blush adorning his face. He wasn’t sure why he decided to invade Viktor’s space like that. Though, a shy glance at Viktor conveyed to Yuuri that he wasn’t the only one embarrassed. 

A warm flush had blossomed throughout Viktor’s cheeks, astonishment clearly projected on his face, showing Yuuri that the feeling was mutual. Viktor stared in awe at Yuuri, almost like he had never heard someone worry for him before.

“I didn’t think you cared so much…” Viktor mumbled softly to himself, before beaming at Yuuri, who turned away feeling even more self-conscious than before. The bright smile Viktor directed towards him was causing Yuuri’s heart to thump rapidly. 

Ignoring the urge to please Viktor further and make him smile wider, Yuuri started to make his way to his bedroom, without a glance towards Viktor. He was exhausted after today’s events and wanted to pass out for the day. 

“I’m going to sleep.” 

“Wait, what about dinner?!”

A troubled shout bursted out from Viktor, one that Yuuri disregarded entirely for the warmth of his bed. 

 

\---

 

Toy poodles. 

Yuuri was surrounded by poodles. There must’ve been hundreds of them. They all looked similar to Vicchan and they were _all_ loving Yuuri. They were showing their affection by licking him and their high-pitched barks were just the cutest _thing_ ever. Nothing could beat such adorableness.  

_Nothing._

“How are you all _so_ cute?” Yuuri squealed, squeezing tight a pair of brown poodles in his arms. He wanted to take them home and love them all. It didn’t matter if there were too much poodles, he was going to bring _all_ of them to his apartment.  

Yuuri must’ve died and gone to doggy heaven. 

“I’m going to bring you home with me. Every single one of you.” Yuuri vowed seriously. 

_“Yuuri.”_

The sudden loud voice had Yuuri grumbling irritably, as he tried to hold the dogs tighter but they were starting to slip away from him. 

“Yuuri…” 

An arm wrapped itself around Yuuri waist and he could feel the breath of the person whispering lowly into his ear. When Yuuri only mumbled back wearily, Viktor blew air into his ear, making him shudder as he started to become more conscious of his surroundings. 

“Wake up.”

An exhausted groan filled the air and Yuuri opened his eyes grumpily, glaring tiredly at Viktor, who must’ve not gone to sleep from the time Yuuri went to his bedroom. 

“Why’d you have to wake me up?” Yuuri moaned in distress, as he buried his face into his pillow again. He closed his eyes, hoping he’ll be able to dream more about cute poodles once again. Viktor stayed quiet for a few seconds but then he spoke up softly.

“Why’d you adopt me that day in the shelter?” 

For the second time, Yuuri opened his eyes blearily, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. He turned over to face Viktor, who stared at him with an expression of perplexion. 

“Well…” Yuuri sighed, furrowing his eyebrows. “They said they would put you to sleep if nobody showed up to adopt you. I didn’t want that to happen.”

When Yuuri first read the post about Viktor, he was disheartened at the news. It was cruel to hear that a dog would be put down if they weren’t wanted by anyone. He was reminded of Vicchan’s death all over again and felt saddened. 

Yuuri had always been an emotional person and hearing the people on the internet plead for someone in Detroit to adopt Viktor before it was too late had tugged at his heartstrings. 

“I’m not sure what exactly I was thinking.” He mumbled hesitantly, hearing the obvious lie in his words. 

The moment Yuuri had seen Vicchan’s red collar that day, he was determined to adopt a puppy again. He was excited at the prospect of doing so, especially since Chris was no longer in his life and he didn’t have figure skating occupying his time anymore. 

But then, he had looked at the Twitter post about the Siberian Husky for the third time that day and just felt like he had to be the one to adopt Viktor. When he first entered the animal shelter and locked his gaze with Viktor’s canny eyes, Yuuri was positive he made the right choice. 

Even now, after discovering that Viktor wasn’t just a dog he had adopted, Yuuri still believed it was the correct choice for him to make. It was dumb but Yuuri kinda felt like it had been fate that led him to Viktor. 

“I saw the collar outside in the living room.” Viktor whispered softly, as he clutched Yuuri’s shoulders, staring deeply into Yuuri’s eyes for confirmation. “You wanted a small dog before you brought me into your home, right? I wasn’t exactly what you were looking for?”

Yuuri didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure if he could reply but the way Yuuri shifted his gaze and bit his lips nervously must’ve indicated to Viktor his answer.

With a thankful chuckle, Viktor wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist and pulled him close, causing Yuuri to softly gasp at the sudden move. Viktor tightened his embrace and Yuuri laid there, not making the effort to break out of the hug.

In their six year relationship, Chris had never made him feel as warm as Viktor had. 

“I’m glad it was you. I don’t think anyone would be as understanding as you. Thanks, Yuuri.” Viktor murmured gratefully and snuggled his face into Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri fluttered his eyes closed, reciprocating the embrace. 

“Good night.”

 

\---

 

“So you did say yesterday was boring...  How about I take you out today? Would you like that?” 

Yuuri smiled fondly when Viktor jumped up to his feet, tail wagging excitedly, with a loud bark. Viktor was clearly showing his enthusiasm over the idea so Yuuri supposed a day out was the best thing to do. 

Today, Yuuri didn’t have any classes. Yuuri typically spent his time at the ice rink during his free days for the previous years but for once, he didn’t have to fill in that time with training for the season. 

It was wonderful to finally have a day to himself. 

“I’m not exactly sure what it is that you’d like to do?” Yuuri said uncertainty, pursing his lips in thought. He never spent much of his free time outside so he wasn’t sure what people like to do in their free time. 

It wasn’t as if Viktor could tell him exactly where he would like to go as well. As of now, the only sounds that Viktor was going to make were barks and whines, not words. Though, maybe Yuuri could make a few suggestions and see how Viktor responded to them. 

“How about I name some ideas and if you like it, bark once for me?” Yuuri proposed, huffing out a laugh at the keen woof he received. 

“Walk to the park?” 

Viktor barked loudly, his tail wagging like crazy at the suggestion.

“Coffee shop?”

Another enthusiastic bark.

“How about the vet? Maybe we should have you checked out?” Yuuri said teasingly. 

An unimpressed growl ripped out of Viktor, his disapproving glare drilling into Yuuri. It was amusing to see displeasure on Viktor, especially since he’s been nothing but cheerful as of lately. 

“I'm joking!” Yuuri laughed. “That’s all I can think for now. Let’s head to the park and then the coffee shop. From that point on, we can decide what else to do.”

Yuuri went to the front to put on his shoes while Viktor waited for him in anticipation. After he finished tying his shoes, Yuuri stood up and glanced at the leash that was sitting on his coffee table. 

“I’m guessing you don’t want to have a leash attached to you?”

Viktor woofed once in agreement. Yuuri smiled and opened the front door, gesturing for Viktor to exit. 

“Let’s go then.”

 

\---

 

It was a nice day with the sun beaming gently down on them, along with a soft breeze. The walk to the park was relaxing for the two of them and when they had finally arrived, it was a fun-filled experience. Yuuri had to admit he felt a thrill at playing fetch with Viktor, who would tackle the object he’d throw into the air with an aggressive bite. They had stayed at the park for hours, relishing in the calm atmosphere. 

Throughout their time at the park, there were a few coos of delight from passerbyers at the sight of the Siberian Husky. They would pet Viktor’s head with enthusiasm and whisper praises at him. Viktor looked awfully pleased at the compliments, most likely basking in the flattering remarks.

“Okay, I think you’ve had enough for today. Let’s go to the coffee shop.” Yuuri told Viktor, after being subjected for the eighteenth time of listening to strangers gush at Viktor. Yuuri could only stand there stiffly and smile awkwardly at the attempts of conversation about his dog. 

Yuuri trudged towards the direction of his favorite coffee shop, with Viktor reluctantly following behind him. It was only a five minute walk from the park and the best feature to the coffee shop was that it was pet friendly, meaning Viktor would be able to come in with him. 

The sweet aroma of coffee and baked goods smacked Yuuri right in the face when he first walked in. Yuuri breathed in deeply, briefly noticing that Viktor had done the same, enjoying the odor of the cafe. 

He asked for his usual order of espresso, as well as two simple sandwiches. After waiting for at least five minutes, Yuuri was seated near the entrance of the shop with his food on the table, along with his espresso.

Yuuri ate his sandwich quietly, watching with amusement as Viktor ripped into his own sandwich hungrily, soft grunts escaping the husky as he swallowed. He sipped his drink as Viktor continued to munch, feeling a bit self-conscious of the stares his dog and him received. 

It must be odd for people to see Yuuri feed his dog a whole sandwich, especially considering the price of the food here. However, it wasn’t like Viktor was an ordinary dog. 

“Isn’t that Yuuri Katsuki?” 

The sharp whisper had Yuuri blinking in surprise, his ears catching the conversation that was being murmured between a pair of females. However, he didn’t turn towards them in fear of them catching his gaze. 

The unexpected voice had Viktor perking up in interest as well, probably wondering what the commotion about Yuuri was about. A quick glimpse at Viktor appeared as if the Siberian Husky had already scarfed down his entire meal within seconds. 

Was it more fans? Yuuri had just run into one the other day and wasn’t in the mood to deal with another one. It was draining to listen to people talk about him like they knew him. 

“I didn’t know he lived here? Shouldn’t he be in China or something?” Yuuri flinched in shock at the blatant question. 

Oh, it was most likely not fans then. 

The small range of supporters Yuuri did have would’ve known his nationality and they wouldn’t have spoken about him with obvious distaste. He should most likely avoid listening to them. Usually, he didn’t hear exchanges of verbal abuse towards him but when he did, Yuuri didn’t react very well to it.

It was probably best for Yuuri to leave. 

“You mean Japan, dumbass?” 

A voice snickered in reply and continued to speak in a haughty tone to their voice.  

“Yeah, he goes to Michigan State University. They were flaunting how one of their students made it to the Grand Prix Series but I heard he came in dead last. Apparently, he flopped it. I wonder how he managed to even make it that far in the first place.”

Yuuri placed his cup of espresso down, feeling nauseous at the words. It was true that he ruined the only chance he had at the Grand Prix Final and came in last. Yuuri has known this for months. He didn’t like hearing their cruel words. Yuuri was harsh enough on himself as it is. 

It’s not like he wasn’t already aware of how much of a loser he was. 

“Wow, if I were him, I’d hate myself for failing that badly.”

_“Right?!”_

At the foul words, Yuuri began gnawing at his lips anxiously. He brushed a hand over his face and tried to compose himself. It wasn’t worth losing his calm over two oblivious people. But he knew he was awful at dealing with stressful situations. 

However, they wouldn’t shut up and there was no way for Yuuri to block out the words. 

Viktor must’ve known the level of distress Yuuri was in because he gripped one of his sleeves with his teeth and attempted to tug him out of his chair but Yuuri didn’t dare budge out of his seat. He _couldn’t_ move. 

“Wait, isn’t he also dating Christophe Giacometti, who came in first place? Just wow. Why would a fellow like Christophe ever want to date such a dull person?”

Yuuri only tensed up further at the mention of his ex. Unfortunately, he was reminded of Chris, who had called it off just two weeks ago. At least the media haven’t learned about their breakup yet. If they did, they would surely make it a more significant deal than it was. 

“Gosh, he should just retire already…” Someone sneered to his right. It could’ve been anyone in that shop from that moment on and Yuuri wouldn’t have known.  

A cold nose nudging his hand startled him back into reality. Viktor looked at him with concern, his whole body stiff with apprehension. But Yuuri glanced away from the Siberian Husky, finally looking at the people who were gossiping about him. It was a pair of girls, most likely younger than him with their immature attitudes.

He couldn’t listen to this any longer.

Yuuri stood up abruptly, in a rush, knocking his cup over. As the brown liquid spilled over the table and all over the floor, he could feel himself panic even more. He tried to wipe the table with his sleeves but it didn’t seem to be helping. 

A cafe worker walked up to him with a worried expression, their frown causing him to feel ill with guilt. Yuuri probably just made their day worse by being a shitty customer and spilling his drink all over the shop’s pristine table and floor. 

“Sir, are you okay? You don’t need to clean the table. I can do that for you.”

At this point, Yuuri found it difficult to breath. 

“I’m sorry.” He choked out breathlessly, his vision starting to blur with unshed tears. He clenched his hands tightly, nails digging into his skin sharply, as he tried to get a grip of himself. The soft whine from Viktor only made him feel worse. 

“Oh shit, did you think he heard us?” Someone whispered… But it wasn’t quiet enough because Yuuri could _still_ hear them. 

Yuuri bolted out of the shop, leaving Viktor alone and stunned. He dashed towards the direction he believed his home was. After a minute of blindly running, he collapsed in an unknown alley, panting heavily and let himself go. 

He started to tremble uncontrollably, his heart beating brutally in his chest, as nausea rolled deep in his stomach. Despite the cool air, Yuuri was burning up and would not stop sweating heavily. He was starting to lose control of his body and mind. 

Yuuri could only focus on three thoughts. 

He was lost. 

He left Viktor behind. 

He was having a panic attack.

Yuuri curled up, hugging his legs to his chest, and buried his face into his lap. He tried to concentrate on breathing but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He needed someone with him to help him through his terror.

He needed Viktor. 

Then just like that, Viktor showed up, as if he were Yuuri’s shining knight in armor. 

Immediately, Viktor nudged Yuuri, making him awkwardly move his limbs. Viktor then laid himself on Yuuri’s lap, calmly staring at Yuuri, who fell silent from his dry sobs. He stared back wide-eyed and to his surprise, Yuuri started to relax. His breathing was falling out more easily. 

Yuuri stroked Viktor’s back, reveling in the thick, soft fur, before planting his face into it. He clutched Viktor tight, desperately needing comfort from the dog. He was relieved when Viktor complied obediently. Not once did the Siberian Husky make a noise and the silence was comforting. 

Eventually, Yuuri stood up and rubbed his wet eyes, brushing off the dust from his jeans. Viktor only looked up at him quietly, his discerning blue eyes drilling into his. 

“Let’s just go home.” Yuuri whispered tiredly, thankful when Viktor followed him without a sound. 

 

\---

 

The moment they reached the apartment, Yuuri darted to his bedroom and hurled himself onto his bed. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped himself around it, protecting himself from any outside dangers. It didn’t matter to him that it was only five o’ clock, he wanted to sleep. 

To his surprise, Viktor didn’t come to disturb him nor did he make any loud noises as Yuuri slept. It was only when midnight struck that Yuuri woke up with sounds of a video playing from his living room.

Yuuri shuffled around his bed restlessly, twitching uneasily at the familiar melody playing outside his bedroom. 

Why the hell was Viktor playing his free skate program?

Yuuri clenched his teeth in annoyance and grabbed a pillow to wrap around his ears, muffling the sound but not blocking it out entirely. Now irritated, Yuuri threw his pillow at the wall next to his living room. Apparently, the loud thump caused Viktor to pause his video, making Yuuri sigh in relief. 

But then a few seconds later, the video of his skating routine increased in volume. There was no escaping the noise. His skating career wouldn’t stop following him everywhere. 

At the loud sound of the video, Yuuri clutched his hair and pulled tight in aggravation. He glared at the direction of the living room. He could feel a migraine forming, his anger overcoming the distress he had felt earlier. 

“Shut it off before I throw you out of this apartment!" Yuuri yelled out, breathing harshly. 

He didn’t mean it but he desperately wanted Viktor to stop watching his awful skating routines. There was _nothing_ great about his performances at all. He wished he could erase all evidence of his skating from the internet. The people didn’t need to be subjected to such horrible videos of him. With a huff, Yuuri reached for his phone and his earphones on the nightstand.

Clearly, it seemed like Viktor wasn’t going to stop. 

Whatever… Yuuri was definitely going to give Viktor the silent treatment tomorrow and he was going to deserve every second of it. 

Blasting his own music at full volume, Yuuri quickly fell back to sleep, his anger slowly dying down to exhaustion. He would rather fall asleep and deal with Viktor when he was a dog again. Yuuri had no desire to talk to Viktor as a human. 

However, it only took a few hours before Yuuri was being awakened again. A heavy leap onto his bed had startled Yuuri awake. Yuuri woke up with an alarmed yelp, gawking in shock at Viktor who jumped onto his bed with excitement. 

“Yuuri!” Viktor exclaimed cheerfully, sending Yuuri a heart-shaped smile. It was too early for Yuuri to be dealing with this. Ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be mad at Viktor, Yuuri responded with a groan of defeat.

“What is it?” 

“I’ve made my decision about Siberia.” Viktor declared confidently, before gripping Yuuri’s arms and squeezing tight. Yuuri studied Viktor with a bemused expression, confused by the excitement that was radiating from Viktor. 

Yuuri narrowed his eyes wearily, waiting for Viktor to keep speaking. Then, to his shock, Viktor hugged him tight and drawing him close to whisper gently into his ear, the warm puffs of air making Yuuri tremble slightly. 

“I’m going to stay by your side.” 

Viktor pulled away with a tender smile, eyes crinkling in amusement at Yuuri’s stunned expression. 

“What…?” 

There was only confusion clouding Yuuri’s mind. Why would Viktor want to stay with someone like Yuuri? There was nothing remarkable about living with him. He was an average, boring college student. 

Then, Viktor dropped the bombshell. 

“I’m going to stay by your side but as your emotional support dog.” Viktor declared with certainty, his smile growing wider at the incredulity emitting from Yuuri. “And when you make it to the Rostelecom Cup for the Grand Prix Final, I’ll make my way to Siberia from Moscow.”

Yuuri choked on air, staring at Viktor in disbelief.

_“What?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back with a third chapter! So I've been pretty much following the manhwa for the first two chapters but this probably going to the point where it diverges from the actual plot. In the last chapter, I had planned to just follow the whole manhwa but then I realized it wouldn't have been exciting enough for the readers of both the manhwa and this story. Though, I might have a few similarities included in future chapters. So I'm finally adding that that flair of Yuri! On Ice. How are you guys liking the thought of Viktor staying by Yuuri's side at the Grand Prix Series? I was kinda iffy about this chapter but I'm just glad to get it out there and hopefully I feel more confident about future chapters. 
> 
> I'd love to hear your comments and I'll be back soon with an update! :)


	4. Chapter 4

_“What?!”_

Yuuri stared at Viktor with wide eyes, mouth gaped open in shock, as he tried to wrap his head around what Viktor had just told him. Viktor looked back at him with a confident smile, beaming at Yuuri as if he had just discovered the cure for cancer.

However, Yuuri’s mind was running wild, his frantic thoughts popping up in a frenzy. He kept trying to tell himself that he didn’t hear Viktor properly. There was no way Viktor was serious about anything he had just told him. Viktor was probably just going to burst out into chuckles and tell him he was only teasing.

This was all just a trick that Viktor was pulling on Yuuri.

Yuuri almost expected for Viktor to soon blurt out that he was kidding but Viktor kept looking at him with that silly grin of his, his blue eyes shining brightly in hope, looking deeply for approval from Yuuri.

Viktor wasn’t joking.

“My emotional support dog?” Yuuri repeated in disbelief, watching as Viktor nodded in confirmation.

“That’s what I just said, Yuuri.” Viktor flopped down onto his back on the bed, pulling Yuuri along with him, before hugging him around the waist. He snuggled close to Yuuri and shut his eyes, as if it that were the end to their conversation.

Yuuri was forced to follow Viktor with a reluctant groan. He laid there stiffly on the bed, wanting to argue to Viktor, but he couldn’t figure out what to say until Viktor continued to murmur to him.

“We can live together until you travel to Russia for your figure skating.”

With annoyance welling up, Yuuri pushed Viktor away and sat up from his spot. He narrowed his eyes at the absurd suggestion. This was just as bad as his other plan to take a boat to Siberia. For Viktor to imply he needed _emotional support_ was just ridiculous. He could take care of himself just fine.

“That’s not going to work!” Yuuri stated lowly, shaking his head in disapproval. “Your plan is ridiculous.”

If he were to bring Viktor around with him wherever he went, people would start to think something was wrong with him in the head. Everyone would assume he was unstable and that he wasn’t able to function without drugs in his system. They would whisper rumours of how _weak_ Katsuki Yuuri was. He would be under the scrutinizing stare of everyone.  

With his anxiety, Yuuri couldn’t handle being judged by strangers and with Viktor by his side, it would only make matters worse.

“I don’t need an emotional support dog.” Yuuri whispered, clenching his jaw in aggravation. “I can take care of myself.”

Yuuri had been perfectly fine before he brought Viktor in his home. That meant he could handle living his life whether or not Viktor was there to comfort him or not. Yuuri wasn’t some fragile damsel in distress that needed some hero to protect him from every _single_ thing.

He was an independent person who didn’t need anyone to pick up after him. Yuuri was a functioning adult.

Viktor sat up abruptly with a frown at Yuuri’s biting claim, confusion furrowing his eyebrows. He looked a little lost, with his eyes wide like a perplexed puppy, as if Yuuri had just spoke to him in gibberish. Viktor tilted his head and started to speak hesitantly.

“I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself. It just seems like you need someone to support you whenever you need it. I want to stay with you to help you feel better about yourself.”

“No.” Yuuri stated curtly, glaring at Viktor. He didn’t need anyone taking care of him. “I don’t need your help.”

Viktor narrowed his eyes, his incisive blue eyes drilling into Yuuri’s face. Yuuri swallowed nervously at the penetrating stare, feeling as if Viktor was trying to infiltrate his head for his deepest, personal thoughts.

“You’re a popular figure skater.” Viktor stated calmly. He didn't question it, simply claiming the sentence as if it were a fact but Yuuri knew it wasn’t true at all. He wasn’t popular by any means. “I didn’t realize it until I overheard those girls talking about you. They were wrong about you.”

Yuuri shook his head in denial. They weren’t entirely wrong about him. He screwed up his chances at the Grand Prix Final and there was no recovery from that. Yuuri should’ve retired ages ago but instead, he kept dragging it on.

“Don’t you mean they were right?” Yuuri whispered wearily. This conversation had just taken a turn for the worst and he was not in the mood to talk about his flunking career in figure skating. “I’m only a dime-a-dozen figure skater.”

At Yuuri’s bleak words, Viktor’s composed stare turned furious. The silver-haired man glared at Yuuri with strong disapproval at his grim statement.

“You’re Japan’s ace!” The conviction in Viktor’s declaration caused Yuuri to grimace.

“I’m letting them down. I’m a disappointment to my country.”

Yuuri shook his head sharply in denial as he uttered his words. Anyone could fill his spot in a heartbeat. He was replaceable. However, at Yuuri’s doubtful expression, Viktor only grew more fervent. Yuuri flinched back at the glower Viktor was directing towards him.

The vehement scowl on Viktor’s face was only intensified by his fierce glare. It was obvious to Yuuri that Viktor disapproved. By his expression, Viktor was clearly unhappy by Yuuri’s beliefs of being a disappointment.

“This is what I’m talking about! You’re letting your thoughts get to you. I just watched your skating. It was the most gorgeous piece of work I’ve laid my eyes on.”

“That’s only because you haven’t watched anyone else perform yet. You don’t have anyone to compare me with.” Yuuri mumbled weakly, directing his gaze towards the bed so he could ignore Viktor’s heated stare.

An annoyed huff reached Yuuri’s ears. There was obvious disbelief in Viktor’s blue eyes but thankfully, the intensity on Viktor’s face died down. A softer expression fell upon Viktor’s face and it almost looked like there was admiration gleaming in his blue eyes as he said his next words.

“I don’t need to see anyone’s skating to see how beautiful you are while performing. It’s like you create music with your body when you skate.” With resolve evident in his tone, Viktor continued to tell Yuuri with certainty. “This is the best plan I can come up with. I’m not changing it.”

“Figure out a new one.” Yuuri pleaded desperately, brown eyes staring at Viktor imploringly. Viktor can’t intrude into his life like this, especially after interfering in it so much already. Viktor needed a new plan. A better one than this awful one.

Viktor deserved much more in his life than attempting to deal with an anxiety-ridden person like Yuuri. However, it looked like Viktor wasn’t changing his mind anytime soon.

“Come on, Yuuri! I’ll be like your personal cheerleader.” Viktor exclaimed in exasperation. Then, he pouted at Yuuri. “I’ll cheer you up whenever you’re feeling down.”

“That’s not what a cheerleader is.” Yuuri hopelessly whispered at Viktor, before continuing to try to discourage the persistent man. “I know I get a bit anxious sometimes but that doesn't mean I need some therapy dog following me around all day. Also, that doesn’t change the fact I already retired.”

Viktor stared at Yuuri blankly, before his blue eyes widened in sudden realization. He looked shocked at the news.

“What? When?” Viktor gasped in horror. “I didn’t see anything about that when I searched you up online?”

“Just yesterday.” Yuuri stated seriously. His retirement will be officially announced once Celestino tells the ISU his decision. It shouldn’t take too long before he hears about it on the news. “I’m not returning to skating which means your plan has already failed.”

At Viktor’s deterred look, Yuuri tried to cheer him up. There was plenty of other plans Viktor could think of and if Viktor couldn’t think of one, then Yuuri can offer him a helping hand. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a way to make it to Siberia, even if Viktor was a werewolf who changed back between a wolf and a man every twelve hours.

“Just try to think of another plan.” Yuuri tried to say reassuringly but Viktor’s expression grew solemn. He winced at the misery etched on Viktor’s face. “This one isn’t too great and besides, don't you want to be in Siberia sooner? The Rostelecom Cup is half a year away.”

There was a long, tense silence between the two, making Yuuri shift uncomfortably on the bed. Viktor stared at Yuuri for the longest time, clearly ruminating his options. After a prolonged stillness, Viktor finally began speaking softly with a pensive frown on his face.

“When you had your panic attack, you clung to me as if your life depended on it and cried your heart out.” Viktor stated frankly, causing Yuuri to redden in mortification at the mention of his freakout. He didn’t want to be reminded about how he wasn’t able to compose himself. But clearly, Viktor wasn’t done talking.

Viktor only continued to speak, his beseeching blue eyes only begging Yuuri to give him a chance. Yuuri would be lying if he said he didn’t feel like surrendering to Viktor’s wishes right then and there. It was clear to Yuuri that Viktor wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Viktor _wanted_ to do this.

“You made me feel like I was wanted, like I was useful. I thought long and hard about a plan and this one felt right. I'm in no rush to make it to Siberia.”

As if the sincere speech wasn’t already enough, Viktor decided to send him one of the saddest looks Yuuri had ever encountered in his entire existence. He pushed his bottom lip out in a pout, while his huge blue eyes stared mournfully into Yuuri’s brown eyes. There were plenty of puppy dog faces that Yuuri has encountered in his life but none of it compared to the pleading expression on Viktor’s face.

It looked like the man was about to weep and Yuuri didn’t think he’d ever see such a beautiful person like Viktor crying. Yuuri didn’t know if he was imagining it but he could almost see the tears forming in Viktor’s eyes. At the sight of an _almost_ sniveling face, dread began filling Yuuri up.

It was most likely Viktor just playing theatrics but it was only pushing Yuuri to change his mind.

“Yuuri, I want to help you. I promise I'll be out of your life once you make it to Rostelecom Cup. _Please._ ”

The heartfelt words struck a chord in Yuuri’s chest, making him want to relent and agree to the whole plan. But then, the thought of reaching out to Celestino to tell him he wanted to return, along with finding a therapist to approve for him to have an emotional support dog had him hesitating.

Tentatively, Yuuri tried to argue back one last time.

“Even if I do go back to figure skating, there’s no telling if I’ll even be assigned to the Rostelecom Cup. There’s six qualifiers in the Grand Prix Series and I'm only given two.” Yuuri stated softly, uncertain if it will do much to dissuade Viktor from his decision. It clearly didn’t from the hopeful expression developing on Viktor’s face.

“Well, we’ll have to just hope for the best then. If you're truly iffy about my plan, then let me know if you’ve made it in when they announce it and if you’re not in the Rostelecom Cup, I'll think of another way to make it to Siberia.”

“Okay, fine.” Yuuri claimed with a relenting sigh. That sounded like a fair deal. It could go either way between the two of them now. “Assignments are up in two months. I suppose we’ll know then.”

At the complying words, it was almost as if a switch went off from inside Viktor. A huge grin swelled up on his face, as his blue eyes gleamed brightly in elation. His intense enthusiasm over Yuuri’s decision was dazzling.

“Great! I'm so glad you approve.”

Vikor exclaimed excitedly and tackled Yuuri back down to the bed. The tight clutch Viktor had on his waist was making it tough for Yuuri to breathe. He curled up closely to him, nestling his face into Yuuri’s neck. In an unexpected course of action, Viktor planted a soft kiss onto his nape, making Yuuri jolt in surprise.

“Um.” Yuuri mumbled bashfully, feeling his face heat up at the sudden smooch. He was about to remind Viktor about personal space but he went silent at the quiet snores that fell out of Viktor’s mouth.

With a tired sigh, Yuuri reluctantly closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

 

\---

 

Sitting in the same coffee shop as the previous day, Yuuri waited in anticipation for his coach to arrive. He had texted Celestino earlier today, asking if they could speak and if they could meet up at a certain location. His coach was quick to reply to him to tell him that he’ll be there.

Shaking his legs in a fit of nerves, Yuuri nervously counted the seconds until Celestino arrived. He was feeling the same type of stress as the day he told his coach that he was quitting. Yuuri couldn’t help but fear that Celestino would be mad for changing his mind.

Though, Yuuri had to remind himself numerous of times that Celestino would be delighted to hear his decision to return.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Yuuri muttered to himself, glaring at Viktor in annoyance. The Siberian Husky only stared back at him in triumph. It was not a surprise that Viktor was looking smug. After all, he had just convinced Yuuri to throw himself back into the menacing sport that he feared to return to.

It wasn’t long before his coach appeared, smiling at Yuuri wearily. He sat down immediately, dismissing Yuuri’s attempt to greet him with a shake of his head. Yuuri drew back awkwardly, growing rigid at the cold gesture. The atmosphere was instantly tense between the two.

Celestino must’ve been annoyed at his decision to retire. There was no other reason he would treat Yuuri like this. He was usually much warmer to Yuuri but it looked like he wasn’t in the mood to talk to Yuuri today. Viktor, who must’ve detected Yuuri’s slowly growing panic, nudged his hand in comfort.

He jolted at the cold touch and tried to open his mouth to tell Celestino he had changed his mind but he must’ve waited too long to talk because Celestino was the first to break the tension.

“Why’d you ask me to come here?” Celestino said in slight disinterest, intimidating Yuuri to close his mouth and say nothing. “I need to head back soon to the ice rink and coach some of my other students. I’m a busy person.”

Celestino looked at him disapprovingly, causing Yuuri to swallow nervously. His coach didn’t mention anything about being occupied today over the texts.

“I wanted to tell you-”

“Do you mind if I order something? I haven’t eaten anything all day.” Without waiting for an answer, Celestino stood up and walked towards the counter. Yuuri’s tense smile diminished as his coach left the table.

He threw his face into his hands, feeling distressed at the current situation. Their meeting was starting to head down the drain.

“This isn’t going well at all.” Yuuri mumbled anxiously to himself and gripped his hair tight until he could feel strands of hair falling out. He clenched his teeth tight and continued to mutter frantically. “Why am I doing this? Celestino hates me now.”

Oh right. He’s doing this on a whim because of Viktor’s so-called plan to Siberia through his figure skating trips. Yuuri glanced at Viktor, who stared back at him in concern. There was an inquisitive tilt to Viktor’s head, probably questioning Yuuri’s uneasiness of the situation.

When Celestino returned to the table with his sandwich and potato chips, Yuuri attempted to perk up, dropping his hands back down. He stayed silent as Celestino began eating without a word to him. Yuuri wasn’t sure if that was his cue to speak but his coach wasn’t talking at all.

“Celestino, I wanted to say-”

Once again, he wasn’t surprised to find himself being interrupted by his coach.

“It’s a shame you quit figure skating.” Celestino cut in abruptly, with a grim frown and sober eyes.  “You had such amazing potential, Yuuri. You would’ve only grown further if you continued to skate.”

Yuuri deflated at the words and stared down at the floor in mortification, etching the pattern of it in his head. Clearly, his coach wasn’t going to give him the chance to speak about his decision to return. In fact, Celestino might grow even more out of hand if Yuuri spoke up.

As Yuuri bit his lips anxiously and mused to himself silently, Celestino only continued to rant. Viktor, who was laying on the floor, only stared at the scene with an inscrutable expression on his face. But as the distress continued to convey itself in Yuuri’s stiff stance and troubled face, Viktor decided to impulsively act.

A loud scream from Celestino had Yuuri flinching in surprise and he flickered his gaze onto his coach. After staring at his coach for a long time, Yuuri was confused about what had exactly disturbed Celestino. It wasn’t long before the sound of munching registered in his ears.

Viktor was guzzling down the sandwich Celestino had purchased earlier. Then, when he was done eating that, Viktor went straight for the chips ferociously. Both Celestino and Yuuri could only gape at the Siberian Husky that was gulping everything down.

After finishing Celestino's meal, Viktor flashed Yuuri a satisfied look and laid back down on the floor to lick at his paws. Yuuri only stared back at Viktor with apprehension, twitching in horror.

“Is that your dog?!” Celestino shouted, causing Yuuri to gasp in shock. He glanced back at his coach, startled at the irked expression. It almost looked like there was steam escaping from Celestino’s ears as he continued to fume. “You need to teach him some manners!”

“I-I’m so sorry!” Yuuri stuttered, feeling his face flare up in humiliation. He bowed down at Celestino apologetically. “I’m not sure why he did that. He’s usually more behaved. I guess I didn’t feed him that well today.”

Clenching his fists tightly, Yuuri directed all his rage into a glare at Viktor, only feeling better when Viktor slunk back with a sorrowful whimper. Viktor sent Yuuri one of his heartbroken puppy faces but Yuuri blatantly looked away with annoyance.

With a remorseful frown, Yuuri asked Celestino if he wanted him to buy him another sandwich. It was only fair after Viktor had devoured his coach’s entire meal from today.

“It’s fine.” Celestino sighed wearily, peeking at Viktor with slight interest. “I wasn’t aware you took in a dog.” With Celestino finally allowing him to talk, Yuuri thought the best moment to bring up his decision was now.

“Yeah…” Yuuri said, before mentioning. “He’s my emotional support dog.”

Celestino blinked in surprise, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Then, the older man looked down in perplexion at the Siberian Husky, who only stared back at the coach with a flat look.

“Your what?”

“My emotional support dog.” Yuuri repeated to his coach and to himself. It was going to take him awhile before Yuuri is going to be used to the idea of Viktor supporting him emotionally. “He’s part of the reason why I wanted to talk to you today. I wanted to ask if the ISU will allow me to bring him along with me to competitions.”

Without letting his coach interrupt him, Yuuri continued to talk.

“I’ve also thought more about what you said last time and I agree with you a hundred percent. I _do_ get anxious at times and Vicchan’s death did affect my free skate performance pretty badly at Sochi. But after a lot of consideration, I’ve made a decision.”

“So what are you trying to say?” Celestino whispered, with a hopeful gleam in his eyes, along with a hint of a smile quirking onto his lips.  

“Celestino, I want to return to figure skating.” Yuuri stated with confidence, conviction in his eyes. He was dead serious with his decision. There was no turning back from this point on. Yuuri was going to try his ultimate best in figure skating.

“That’s great!” Celestino proclaimed loudly in relief. “I’m extremely glad you’ve decided to change your mind! It’s also nice to hear you took my words into consideration.”

Yuuri smiled politely at his coach. In all honesty, if it weren’t for Viktor, Yuuri wouldn’t have considered returning to the sport. But with Viktor pushing him until he decided to yield, Yuuri was going to head back to the ice. Yuuri was almost terrified to do so.

“Also, I apologize for being a bit rough on you earlier.” Celestino said regretfully. “It’s been a rather tough day.”

“Don’t worry about it.” It was easy to forgive his coach, especially after the apology. Celestino usually didn’t treat him like he was a nuisance but it was clear to see from the start his coach was having a difficult time with Yuuri, who must’ve stressed him out with his decision to leave. “I figure it’s a hard ordeal to tell the ISU that I’ve retired.”

“I haven’t told them yet.” Celestino confessed, stunning Yuuri with the revelation. “I was going to give you a week, in case you decided to contact me, before I informed them.”

“Oh. Thank you, then.” Yuuri whispered, oddly pleased to hear his coach waited for him. Typically when his rinkmates wanted to retire, Celestino would inform the ISU immediately. “For believing I’ll come back.”

“Of course, I’ll always believe in you.” His coach declared with a smile. “About bringing your emotional support dog to competitions, I’m going to have to ask the ISU. There might be some rules regarding that but I’m sure they’ll be willing to let you bring your dog along. What’s his name?”

“It’s Viktor.” Yuuri stated, smiling fondly when Viktor barked enthusiastically in confirmation.

Celestino blinked at the reply, his smile curving even wider in amusement. “You named your second dog with the same name as your first dog?”

“That was a coincidence.” Yuuri mumbled in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks flush. Even though Yuuri called his previous dog, Vicchan, it was intended for his poodle to take after the same name as Viktor. “The animal shelter told me his name was Viktor and I didn’t have the heart to change it.”

“It’s funny.” Celestino told Yuuri him kindly, no trace of scorn in his voice. “I’m glad you have Viktor now, I’m sure he’ll be able to help you out a lot.”

Viktor woofed in agreement to Celestino’s words, causing the man to glance down at him in mirth.

“It’s as if he can understand me.” Celestino said with a chuckle. Yuuri joined in with a laughter of his own, staring at Viktor with a tender look.

“I’m sure he does. Viktor is a very intelligent dog.” Then, Yuuri’s smile dimmed down to a serious expression. “Also, I wanted to bring up something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I don’t want to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in March.” Yuuri said softly. “I want to focus more on finishing my last year of college but after that’s done, I’m willing to work harder on my figure skating.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

Celestino said reluctantly. It was clearly the best option for Yuuri, who had originally wanted a permanent break from the sport. A short time off of skating competitions was what Yuuri needed.

“I’m sure Japan can find another figure skater to fill in your spot. I’ll just have to inform them of your decision.”

“There’s another thing too.” Yuuri mumbled a bit more anxiously. He wasn’t certain how Celestino was going to feel about it. “After I graduate, I want to go visit my family for a month. I haven’t seen them in five years.”

“I’m not exactly sure about that.”

Celestino told him, discomfort clear in his voice. Uncertainty was written plainly on his coach’s face, indicating his disapproval of the idea. The curious head tilt to Viktor showed that he had no clue of Yuuri’s plans as well.

“You’re going to need to practice as much as possible.”

“There’s an ice rink in Hasetsu. I can practice there.” Yuuri said imploringly. He missed his family a lot. After the news of his dog’s death, Yuuri had only felt homesick. He wanted to return home and introduce Viktor to them as well but only as his dog.

It didn’t take long for his coach give into Yuuri’s desire to visit his family.

“Okay, we’ll arrange something when the time comes.” Celestino said, before glancing down at his phone, checking the time. “I actually need to get going.” Yuuri stood up the same moment as his coach did.

“Thank you for coming.” 

“No problem, it was nice talking to you. On top of all that, Phichit’s been wondering where you’ve been.” His coach started towards the direction of the door. “I’ll contact you later about skating sessions.”

“Bye.”

With a wave, Celestino was out of the coffee shop. Yuuri sharply breathed in, before exhaling in relief. He watched silently as Viktor stood up and shuffled around Yuuri impatiently. From the jittery movements of Viktor, the Siberian Husky must’ve wanted to leave.

Yuuri supposed he wasn’t fast enough because Viktor suddenly darted for the exit, looking back at Yuuri restlessly when it took him four times as long to reach the door. Then, out of the shop they went.

 

\---

 

At the apartment, Yuuri was seated on his couch, typing away on his laptop. Then, after awhile, Viktor walked out of his bedroom. He was wearing his ex-boyfriend’s long sleeved shirt, along with a pair of sweatpants.

“That went much better than I thought.” Yuuri told Viktor contentedly, smiling happily at Viktor. He was referring to the meeting with his coach. “I thought he was going to be more irritated at me.”

“If you ask me, he was too irritated.”

Viktor declared with an aggravated huff, his face scrunched up disapprovingly. He was quick to join Yuuri on the couch, who placed his laptop away on the coffee table. He curled next to Yuuri, who complied with an embrace of his own. Yuuri was starting to grow used to Viktor’s affection and he had to admit that the hugs were extremely nice.

“So now I get to follow you everywhere, right?” Viktor said excitedly but Yuuri shook his head and huffed in amusement. 

“Well, I need to get approval from a therapist first and then you'll be with me everywhere.”

Yuuri could deal with the issue more tomorrow. For now, he wanted to bask in the warmth of Viktor’s tender caress. He nestled closer to Viktor, fluttering his eyes closed when Viktor shifted them into a more comfortable position.

Yuuri doesn’t remember falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been lacking a lot of motivation for this particular chapter but I managed to type most of it today. Also, sorry if there are any typos in this, I'm just uploading it now because I'm eager to get it out there. I didn't really look over this chapter as much as the other's. The ending to this chapter sorta sucks but I had originally planned for this chapter to stop when Celestino had left. 
> 
> But I am happy to say that I've planned the next few chapters and hopefully after the next chapter, this story will be heading off to Japan! I've also have the basic outline and ending planned so yay! Until next time and I hope to hear your thoughts! :)


	5. Chapter 5

After that night, Yuuri worked on qualifying for an emotional support dog. First, he needed to be considered emotionally disabled by a licensed mental health professional and be prescribed a ESA letter. From Yuuri’s previous experiences, he was certain he’ll be able to receive the letter.

Once he was able to find a psychiatrist willing to give him an evaluation that same exact day, Yuuri was out the door to go to his appointment. Unfortunately, Yuuri had to leave Viktor at home. He felt kind of terrible for leaving a sulking Siberian Husky behind.

As he sat through his examination, Yuuri grew nervous at the probing questions the doctor threw at him. He sat there anxiously, answering every question in a quiet, intimidated voice. It was an absolutely awful experience for Yuuri. He was certain the psychiatrist could see the cold sweat dripping down from Yuuri’s face, along with the frightened twitch Yuuri gave whenever the man inquired him.

At the end of the appointment, the psychiatrist claimed that he did indeed have anxiety. To be specific, Yuuri had social anxiety disorder which he wasn’t too surprised to hear. Though, that didn’t mean he wasn’t dismayed to learn so.

The doctor already knew he was there to receive a letter that would grant him approval for an emotional support animal, so he informed Yuuri to wait in the lobby and wait for it to come out. Luckily, Yuuri was able to receive the letter in such a quick time frame. From what he read online, it usually took longer than a day but apparently, this place was an exception.

Once Yuuri received the letter, he quickly left the building.

Yuuri had planned to head home after, just so he could notify Viktor, who would surely be excited by the news. However, he opened his phone to find a text from Phichit. His friend had wanted to ask if he was free to go out for a late lunch.

Not dwelling much on it, Yuuri accepted the invitation. It’s been awhile since he had seen his close friend, especially with their conflicting schedules. It wouldn’t hurt to spend some time with Phichit.

 

\---

 

“Yuuri!”

As soon as Yuuri entered the Thai restaurant, he heard his name being called out enthusiastically. He spotted Phichit sitting in the corner of the shop, a huge grin on his face as he waved excitedly at Yuuri.

“It’s been too long.” Phichit exclaimed, as he jumped out of his seat to give Yuuri a tight embrace.

Yuuri directed a fond smile towards Phichit, before hugging him back, relieved to finally devote some time with his dear friend. He had neglected to contact Phichit as much as he used to in the past.

“It really has been a long time.” Yuuri responded softly, as he seated himself down. He glanced briefly at the menu, before pushing it to the side. He already knew what he wanted to eat and from the looks of it, Phichit already decided on his entree as well.

There was also an odd expression on Phichit's face. His shady smile and shifty eyes only made Yuuri raise an eyebrow in question. It appeared as if his Thai friend had something to tell him but Yuuri wasn’t certain if Phichit wanted him to speak first or if he was going to talk anytime soon.

Thankfully, Phichit finally spoke, breaking the strange atmosphere that was occurring.

“So… I hear you have a dog now.” Phichit said in a light tone. The declaration surprised Yuuri, causing him to blink at his friend in bafflement. He tried to wrack through his head about how Phichit must’ve heard and quickly came to the conclusion that Celestino must’ve told him.

A small flicker of annoyance popped up that Yuuri tried to push down instantly. It wasn't fair for Celestino to tell Phichit every minor detail about Yuuri, even if the two of them were friends. He would've eventually told Phichit about Viktor.

“Yeah. Did Celestino tell you?” Yuuri asked, certain it was his coach that informed his friend. At the question, Phichit automatically nodded, confirming Yuuri’s suspicion.

“Yep, he told me all about your Siberian Husky and how his name was Viktor, just exactly like Vicchan.” Phichit raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that, causing Yuuri to slightly flush and laugh awkwardly in reply. From the questioning expression on his Phichit’s face, Celestino must’ve not told Phichit every single detail.

Yuuri was going to tell his friend the same thing he mentioned to Celestino about Viktor already being named but the waiter quickly came up with their glasses of water. Then, the two of them were ordering their usual meals.  

When their waiter left their table, Yuuri opened his mouth to inform Phichit that Viktor’s name was merely a coincidence. However, Phichit quickly beat him to speaking before Yuuri could get a word out.

“He also told me that you were planning to retire before yesterday?” Phichit asked seriously, looking at Yuuri with somber eyes.

Yuuri swallowed nervously, as he directed a weak smile to his friend, who only stared back at him sternly. Silently, Yuuri nodded his head in confirmation, internally wincing at the disappointed expression that quickly overcame Phichit’s face.

“I did plan to quit but I changed my mind.” He tried to tell Phichit reassuringly, as he shrugged nonchalantly at the concern his friend was conveying. There was no reason for anyone to make a big deal out of whether Yuuri decided to retire or not.

However, the upset frown on Phichit’s face told him otherwise.

“Yuuri!” Phichit whined loudly, his disapproving eyes staring daggers into Yuuri. “Why don’t you ever tell me anything? Didn’t we used to be roommates?”

At Phichit’s look of betrayal, Yuuri sent him an apologetic expression. Phichit did speak some truth. He rarely told Phichit anything important these days. It must’ve been hard on his Thai friend, especially after being so close the first few years they’ve known each other.

When Yuuri first moved to Detroit, Michigan, he was assigned to Phichit as a roommate. Luckily, the two of them connected instantly. Phichit had appealed to Yuuri as someone who was friendly and outgoing. It was great to make a friend after flying thousands of miles away from Japan. Phichit made Yuuri miss his home in Hasetsu a little less.

His Thai roommate was someone who he used to confide all of his secrets to but as of lately, Yuuri wasn’t even talking to him. If Yuuri had to name a reason for his sudden AWOL on his friend, it would've been his horrible skating season and breakup with Chris.

“I’m sorry.” Yuuri said softly, knowing his friend would need much more than a simple apology. In fact, Phichit needed to know his whole backstory. It was only fair for him to know, especially with Yuuri being such an awful friend to him lately. “I’ve been really busy lately and there was lot going on in my life.”

“It’s fine, Yuuri. I get worried about you sometimes. I would like to hear how you are doing sometimes.”

At Phichit’s sincere words, Yuuri felt his heart clench tightly in guilt. Phichit continued to ramble on, only succeeding to make Yuuri feel regretful over his choices.

“I know that we’ve grown a little more distant since you and Chris moved into an apartment last year but you should know that I'm always here to talk to you if you need it.”

“Chris broke up with me two weeks ago.” Yuuri blurted out, watching nervously as his friend tried to process the sudden words. Phichit had grown still, his expression blank until realization struck him and then, shock began to make itself known on his face.

“What?! Why?” Phichit gasped, eyes wide as he looked at Yuuri for clarification.

“It just wasn’t working out.” Yuuri said quietly, his words vague.

If Yuuri was being honest, he wasn’t exactly sure why they had split, despite the fact Chris had used skating as the main reason. They always had temporary breakups from time to time but it was under the assumption that they would come back together. This time, Yuuri was certain their break from each other was going to be more than just brief. 

However, it was an eyeopener for Yuuri once Chris had broken up with him. There was no point for Yuuri to invest in a relationship that was on and off all the time. Even when they were together, it had felt like Chris was always flirting with other people. At first, Yuuri had brushed it off as Chris’ naturally provocative behavior but as of recently, he was starting to suspect that Chris might’ve actually been two-timing him.

“Well,” Phichit huffed, as he directed an encouraging grin at Yuuri. “You could do way better than Chris.”

Yuuri smiled back softly at his friend. Phichit always knew the right words to cheer him up. It’s a wonder how Yuuri went through his life so long without Phichit beside him. He should’ve confided in Phichit, especially when Yuuri was considering on retiring.

“Thanks, Phichit.”

The waiter eventually came out with their dishes. Phichit ordered a plate of Green Chicken Curry while Yuuri had asked for Pad Thai. Once their plates of food were on the table, Phichit was quick to whip out his phone and take a selfie.

“Say cheese!” Phichit told him as he stood up and turned his back on Yuuri, attempting to find the best angle to fit both their faces and their cuisines into a picture.

Yuuri smiled widely at the camera, his chest warm at Phichit’s familiar antics. His former roommate often took photos like this everywhere, whether it was a restaurant, the ice rink, or a competition. Phichit was a social media fanatic and his daily dose of pictures online demonstrated it.

“This is going to look great on my feed!” Phichit exclaimed, as he sat himself back down on his seat, and pulled up Instagram. Yuuri raised an amused eyebrow, his lips quirked upwards in merriment, as he watched his friend suggest some of the hilarious captions he was thinking of.

With fondness melting his heart, Yuuri released a soft laugh and began to eat his warm plate of food.

 

\---

 

Yuuri ended up spending most of the day with Phichit. They had passed their time by catching up with each other. He didn’t realize how much he had missed his Thai friend until they had parted ways. With a tight hug, the two of them had proclaimed their farewells.

When Yuuri approached his apartment, it was already dark outside. Viktor must’ve been waiting inside for him. Yuuri actually intended on coming home earlier with a promise to Viktor he'd do so but he was quickly swept away with devoting time with Phichit that he didn’t notice the hours pass by.

As he walked in, Yuuri was immediately greeted by the sight of a surly Viktor, who was standing in the living room with his arms crossed like a strict parent, along with a stern look. Yuuri placed his book bag down on the couch, oddly feeling like a disobedient child, and smiled hesitantly at Viktor.

“How was your day?” Yuuri asked, twitching nervously when Viktor only looked at him, unimpressed by his attempt for a friendly conversation.

By Viktor’s steely stare, his day must’ve not been great. Yuuri didn’t think it was, especially since Viktor had no choice but to stay in the apartment all day, waiting for Yuuri to come back. It must’ve been dreadful not to have any company.

“You said you’d be home right after your appointment. It’s been ten hours since you left.” Viktor stated unhappily, as he strolled closer to Yuuri, who scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Sorry, something came up.” Yuuri said softly, not offering any more details about his day. “But I got the ESA letter! All we need to do is work out a few other things and we’ll be all set.”

Yuuri grabbed his book bag, rummaging through it until he finally pulled out the letter and set it down on the table. He sat down on the couch and Viktor followed along silently, reaching for the paper, while examining it curiously. As Viktor read over the letter, Yuuri decided to bring up a problem he had discovered during his visit to the psychiatrist.

“I’ve been doing some research on emotional support animals. I wasn’t sure how elaborate your plan was so I looked it up online and well, we might have an issue.”

“What do you mean?” Viktor looked concerned at his sudden declaration, causing Yuuri to bite his lips anxiously. He didn’t really want to break the news to Viktor, who was so excited about his ‘amazing’ plan when he told Yuuri about it.

While he was waiting to be called into his appointment, Yuuri had searched through the Internet on emotional support animals. If Viktor was going to be his emotional support animal, Yuuri decided he would need to learn a few more facts about an ESA than the vague ideas he had about it.  

When Yuuri looked more into it, he was saddened to read that they were wrong about an ESA being able to follow their owner into public places. It appeared as if service animals were the only ones that were given that right, due to the ADA.

Yuuri had to admit that he didn’t know too much about emotional support animals when Viktor first suggested the idea. All he knew was that he needed approval from a medical professional.

“Well, for one, emotional support animals are not allowed in public places so that technically means you’re not allowed to follow me everywhere. I'm pretty sure you had it confused with service dogs.”

At the statement, Viktor widened his blue eyes in disbelief. He looked completely shocked at the news and his loud, questioning shout conveyed his surprise over the discovery.

“Really?!”

Yuuri nodded at the loud proclamation, watching mutely as Viktor deflated in his seat. He could see how the revelation saddened Viktor by the way the light started to disappear in his blue eyes. He wasn’t even looking at Yuuri. Instead, Viktor was directing his somber gaze onto the letter in his hands.

Viktor looked utterly defeated by his words. When the sullen expression on Viktor’s face refused to disappear from the werewolf’s face, Yuuri started scrambling frantically through his head to say something that would cheer him up.

“But Celestio texted me earlier to tell me that the ISU approved on letting you follow me to skating events as my emotional support dog. I was actually pretty surprised to hear that. Though, you’re expected to stick by my coach’s side whenever I'm on the ice rink.” Yuuri declared with as much excitement as he could muster up.

When he received the text earlier today with Phichit by his side, Yuuri was shocked to hear such news. The only paperwork he would need was the letter he received today at the psychiatrist. He wasn’t sure what his coach went through to convince the ISU to allow his dog to follow him to competitions but Yuuri was relieved to hear he received approval.

However, despite Yuuri telling him what he considered to be good news, Viktor still looked incredibly upset by the news. His nose was scrunched up in dismay and there was a frown on his face that made him look like the most miserable person on the planet.

“Even if you can’t follow me everywhere, being my emotional support animal will still have its benefits. You can be by my side on the airplane with me.”

Yuuri tried to tell Viktor encouragingly, but judging by the frown on Viktor’s face, it was to no avail. With a sigh, Yuuri tried to suggest a solution, one that he would prefer not to do, mostly since it would mean more time and work.

“But if you’re still unsatisfied, we can try applying you to be a service dog. I read online that if a dog is trained in detecting an anxiety attack before it happens and can take a specific action on preventing or minimizing it, then they would be considered a service dog. I think you sort of tried helping me the other day so that's a start. If you're up for it, you can be both be a service and emotional support dog. Two-in-one. It’s only been the first couple of days. We can still go with your plan.”

“I guess…” Viktor mumbled, staring at the papers in his hands solemnly, his brooding form only failing to make Yuuri feel better.

Yuuri could only swallow nervously at the tense silence that followed. It was obvious from the moment he entered his apartment that Viktor was not in a great mood. From what he could tell, Viktor didn’t seem too happy that he came home late.

“Was it your boyfriend?” Viktor suddenly stated, causing Yuuri to glance at him in bafflement. He didn’t understand why Viktor was mentioning a boyfriend out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

“The person you spent your day with today.”

The tone of Viktor’s voice turned hard, as his icy blue eyes stared sharply into Yuuri, who could only stare back open-mouthed in shock. Yuuri didn't really know Viktor for a long period of time but in the amount of time Yuuri has gotten to spend with him, Viktor was always a radiating bundle of warmth.

It was a bit unnerving to see Viktor act so cold towards him. Yuuri almost didn’t know how to respond but he decided the truth wouldn’t hurt.

“It wasn’t my boyfriend.”

Yuuri answered honestly, frowning when Viktor’s ominous expression didn’t change one bit. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, as he voiced his growing suspicion over Viktor’s gloomy attitude.

“Don't tell me that's why you've been all sulky from the moment I've walked in?”

At Yuuri’s concerned question, Viktor didn’t answer. Instead, he narrowed his eyes in doubt and scooted closer to Yuuri on the couch, his body crowding itself into Yuuri’s personal space. Then, Viktor placed a warm hand onto his cheek and leaned his face into his Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri jolted in surprise when Viktor nuzzled and took a huge whiff of his neck. Viktor stayed there for awhile, just taking in his scent, as Yuuri sat there stiffly, not knowing what to do.

“Liar.” Viktor muttered, as he pulled away with a morose expression, turning away from Yuuri. “I smell his cologne.”

Yuuri reached for his neck with both hands, reddening in embarrassment. There were a few times where he hugged Phichit a few times throughout the day. His friend’s cologne must’ve rubbed off on Yuuri. If Yuuri smelt like Phichit from the moment he entered the apartment, then Viktor must’ve had came to the conclusion that he spent the day with his ‘boyfriend’.

“I'm not lying.” Yuuri stated firmly, as he reached to grip Viktor’s cheek in resolution, forcing his blue eyes to focus on him. He wanted to make Viktor understand. “I spent the day with Phichit. He’s my friend and a rinkmate.”

However, Viktor still didn’t appear content with Yuuri’s consoling words. The gray-haired werewolf only sighed loudly, looking hesitant for a second before his face shifted into an unwavering expression. The words that flowed out of Viktor revealed to Yuuri the sadness he felt about being by himself in the solitary apartment.

“You have a life outside of this apartment. You get to go to school and meet other people.” Viktor murmured, his blue eyes reflecting loneliness. “But I spend my whole day in this empty place, all alone…”

Yuuri frowned guiltily, as the words struck a sympathizing chord inside of him. He imagined it would be tough for Viktor to have such a life, considering the fact that he was a canine during the day and a human during the night.

There were a few instances where Yuuri had speculated that Viktor must’ve been miserable being by himself in the apartment but it was often hidden under his bright personality. It definitely explained Viktor’s desire to be affectionately close to him.

“It’s lonely being by myself.” Viktor said softly. A hand laid itself on top of Yuuri’s. At the action, Yuuri blinked and peered silently at Viktor, who only looked at him imploringly. “Take me out with you, whenever you’re free.”

At Viktor’s pleading wish, Yuuri found himself caving in. It was hard to say no to someone who was sending him the puppy stare. There was no one who could pull it off better than Viktor, who directed him a dejected look that consisted of a heartbroken pout and despairing blue eyes.

“Okay.” Yuuri whispered.

When Viktor tightened his grip on his hand and beamed at him, Yuuri found himself relaxing in his seat. He didn’t even realize he had tensed up in the first place but it seemed to be a reoccuring theme whenever he was subjected to Viktor’s unhappiness.

“So all we need to do is register me as a service dog?” Viktor questioned with a bright smile, brightening up in his seat. He looked radiant, which was the complete opposite of how he was acting ten minutes prior.

At Viktor’s inquiry, Yuuri furrowed his eyebrows. He did suggest it as an option but Yuuri felt less enthusiastic about it than having Viktor as his emotional support dog. The only reason why he decided to propose the idea was because Viktor looked so upset over not being able to accompany him everywhere.

“You still want that?” Yuuri asked uncertainty, nervously biting his lips at Viktor’s eager nod. “Don’t you think that being my emotional support animal is enough? I feel like it’s a bit too much to register you as my service dog as well.”

Yuuri didn’t think his anxiety was awful to the point where he needed a service dog. Having Viktor as his emotional support animal made sense but he wasn’t quite sure about a service dog. He didn’t get panic attacks as often as he did when he was younger. Though, his anxiety usually spiraled out of control at a competition or a stressful social event.

One of his biggest panic attacks happened at the Grand Prix Final in Sochi. When he learned Vicchan had passed away the day before his free skate, Yuuri had a terrible breakdown. Then, after he attempted to pull it together and perform his free skate, Yuuri had another anxiety attack in a bathroom stall.

Thinking about it now, Chris wasn’t there for him during both of his nervous breakdowns. His ex-boyfriend was too busy being interviewed and socializing to care for Yuuri. All he received from Chris was a short condolence about the death of his pet. It failed to abate Yuuri’s overpowering emotions of sadness.

“Nope!” Viktor responded cheerfully. “It’s not enough. You had an anxiety attack the other day so I should probably keep my eyes on you wherever you decide to go.” Then, Viktor grinned widely and exclaimed in a wholesome tone of voice. “I want to follow and support you everywhere, Yuuri!”

At Viktor’s uplifting declaration, Yuuri felt any opposing thoughts slip away from his mind. It might be a bit difficult to enlist Viktor as a service dog but it could definitely happen. Though, Yuuri admitted that Viktor’s plan was growing to be a bit more complicated than he expected it to be.

“I guess if it works out, we can try…”

“Great!”

Viktor smiled, his eyes crinkling in mirth. Then, he shifted on the couch, as he shuffled closer to Yuuri.

“So I’ve been wondering…” Viktor announced, as he peeked down at his attire, causing Yuuri to glimpse at the werewolf's garments as well. They were a bit loose on Viktor, which made sense considering Chris was a giant, but it was the closest apparel to his size that Yuuri had. “The clothes you’re making me wear. They’re too big for you. Did they belong to your boyfriend?”

“Well, yes…” Yuuri hesitantly said, not certain if he would necessarily call Chris his boyfriend anymore.  

At his answer, Viktor’s light-hearted expression immediately shifted into one of resentment. His small smile changed into a disgruntled frown and his displeased blue eyes stared irritably at Yuuri.

With an aggravated huff, Viktor removed his shirt in a flash, his naked torso on display for Yuuri, who could only choke on the air in shock. When Viktor’s hands reached for the zipper, fully intending to remove the jeans he had on, Yuuri squeaked in horror as he grasped Viktor’s hands tightly and shook his head rapidly.

“They belong to my ex-boyfriend! My EX!” Yuuri shrieked frantically, loudly emphasizing the ex. Reluctantly, with a doubtful look, Viktor’s hands slipped away from his pants, making Yuuri exhale out a sigh of relief.

The look of disgust that Viktor sent down to the clothes he had on didn’t go unnoticed by Yuuri, who only eyed Viktor pensively. It wasn’t like the attire Viktor wore was dreadful. In fact, Yuuri believed Chris had good taste in clothing choice and it looked pretty remarkable on Viktor, even if it didn’t suit him just right.

Maybe it was a territorial issue that Viktor was having. Yuuri didn’t know much about werewolves to fully fathom the problem. On the other hand, Yuuri didn’t really mind. As long as Viktor was dressed, he was happy. He didn’t have the desire to see a nude werewolf every night, even if Viktor somewhat did have an attractive body.

“Fine.” Viktor complied begrudgingly. “But we should go to the mall someday and buy me some other clothes.”

“Just exactly how much money do you think I make?” Yuuri asked in exasperation, throwing a pointed look at Viktor, who only spouted back nonsense.

“Well, just win gold at the Grand Prix Final and you’ll be set for life!”

At the declaration, Yuuri raised an incredulous eyebrow. He came in last at the Grand Prix Final. It was going to take him a lot longer than a year to finally earn first place in such a huge competition. He could pull off a good score a few times but most of the time, his nerves hit him in the wrong moment which would cause all of his hard work to come crumbling down.

“It’s not that easy.”

Viktor tilted his head, raising a perplexed eyebrow. He looked like he didn't believe in Yuuri's statement. 

“If you want, I can give you a few pointers.” Viktor ran a hand through his light gray hair and smiled confidently at Yuuri. “I used to skate at night back in my home. I’m actually pretty talented at it. I can even pull off a few, amazing tricks like an athlete.” Then, Viktor sent him a flirtatious wink, his smile expanding into a teasing smirk. “Or if you’d prefer, like a good doggy.”

“Sure.” Yuuri replied doubtfully, dismissing Viktor’s claims with an unbelieving shake to the head, causing the werewolf to deflate at his nonchalant brush off.

There was no way Viktor would be good at a sport that took hours of dedication per day. Yuuri spent nearly his entire life dedicating his body to figure skating. Not only did it take a lot of athleticism, it was also a form of art that required a lot of beauty and elegance.

“It’s true.” Viktor claimed with a pout, huffing in mock irritation when Yuuri only stared back at him flatly. However, he didn’t try convincing Yuuri any longer. “But anyways, I really want to go shopping soon. It’s been a really long time since I've gone.”

A hint of sadness appeared on Viktor’s face before vanishing with the next sentence he uttered.

“And I also don’t like the thought of wearing your boyfriend’s clothes…” Viktor stated, his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration as a deep frown appeared on his face.

“My ex.” Yuuri clarified once again. However, Viktor didn’t seem to believe him because he started to stare at Yuuri with suspicion on his face.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” Viktor asked rather bluntly, causing Yuuri to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

Did Yuuri still like Chris?

When he considered it more seriously, Yuuri would have to say he no longer contained feelings for his ex. Their burning love for each other had died months ago. Even though Yuuri couldn't pull the courage to call their long relationship off, he was definitely starting to feel uninterested in their time together. He was glad when Chris did it and hopefully his ex did it with intentions of their breakup being permanent. Yuuri didn't think he could handle Chris coming back to him for the hundredth time. 

Yuuri sighed, before reaching for Viktor's hands in a fit of boldness. He wanted to solve the misconception Viktor had about him and his ex. He was resolved to prove to Viktor that he wasn't looking to date Chris again.

“Do you really think I would let you cuddle and hug me all the time if I had feelings for someone else?" Yuuri asked seriously, narrowing his eyes when Viktor's face went blank. It shouldn't be a hard question to answer at all. 

“Um…”

“I don't have anyone right now." Yuuri squeezed Viktor's hands and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. He wanted Viktor to understand just how he felt about their situation. "Just you, Viktor.”

Then, he pulled away, placing a quick peck on Viktor's cheek, to accentuate his point better. When Yuuri was back in his earlier position where he could gauge Viktor's reaction, he was satisfied to see how Viktor's cheeks had flared up in embarrassment. Viktor also appeared to be pleased, as a bashful smile began forming on his red face. 

“I won't be dating anyone any time soon.”

Yuuri smiled in amusement. When he picked Viktor up from the shelter, Yuuri was set on creating a better lifestyle than the one he had with Chris. Bringing home Viktor was the best choice he made in a long time and he didn't think his life would ever be the same now that Viktor was in it. Yuuri was going to set the record straight for Viktor, just so there were no doubts between the two of them.

“I needed a break from a relationship and you gave me exactly that. There won't be any other man, dog... or werewolf in this apartment. Just you. I only want you in my home."

Viktor looked incredibly moved by his proclamation, with his wide blue eyes staring at Yuuri in awe. It was as if Viktor never had someone deliver him such a heartfelt talk before in his entire life from his shocked reaction. Yuuri sat there patiently, waiting for him to say something. Instead of words, Viktor embraced him tightly, like Yuuri was someone dear to him.

"I wouldn't mind another dog." Viktor murmured with a soft chuckle, causing Yuuri to laugh in reply.

"Maybe a dog." Yuuri approved, smiling tenderly at Viktor. It might be a naive dream but it wouldn't hurt to fantasize once in awhile, especially during this particular night where the moment seemed right to wish for the best. Yuuri didn't even try to dwell on the fact that Viktor might not be with him any longer than a year. 

"Yuuri, I really like you." Viktor declared out of the blue. Yuuri shifted his eyes onto Viktor with interest, fascinated by the flustered behavior Viktor was exhibiting. "I want to be with you all the time."

The confession failed to surprise Yuuri. Though, it definitely warmed his heart and he smiled wider at Viktor, clearly conveying his affection. By any means, Yuuri wasn't going to profess his undying love to the werewolf. That would be odd, considering that he's only known Viktor for only a few days. He also just recently went through a breakup. However, Yuuri  _would_ admit that he really liked Viktor, more than he liked Chris their first time meeting. 

So Yuuri simply told Viktor just that.

"I like you too, Viktor."

 

\---

 

Eventually, Yuuri figured out a way to register Viktor as his service dog. There were a lot of complicated steps that he needed to take to accomplish that. Once he did, Viktor was by his side, following him wherever he went. All Yuuri needed to have with him was his documents while Viktor required an ID badge to be attached to his collar. 

After that, all Yuuri needed to worry about was graduating from his university. The path to making it happen seemed much easier now that he had Viktor with him everywhere. Just like he feared, there were a lot more judgmental stares he received now that he had a service dog but somehow, Viktor diminished all his worries just by being with him every moment of the day. He finally understood the appeal of having an emotional support dog. 

Luckily, Yuuri ended up having the opportunity to graduate two months earlier than planned. He managed to graduate a week before the World Figure Skating Championships with a Journalism degree. He hoped to pursue a job related to figure skating and he thought writing articles about the topic sounded nice. Maybe if Yuuri grew up to be more confident in himself, he would become an announcer for figure skating competitions.

Once Yuuri told Celestino of his plans to graduate early, his coach started to make a training arrangement for him while he was in Japan. They had six weeks to layout how Yuuri should prepare for the upcoming season in his month stay in Japan. Celestino briefly told him his idea to arrange for a choreographer and music choices. They carefully outlined how he should spend each day training, before coming to a solid agreement about his schedule. 

Even though Yuuri was no longer performing in competitions until the next skating season, Celestino still had him come down to the ice rink in Detroit to practice. He trained alongside Phichit and his other rinkmates while Viktor watched him intently by the ice rink. 

In late March, Yuuri finished college and had received his degree in Journalism. He was on his way to the airport with his luggage and Viktor by his side. They were leaving Detroit and the apartment the two of them have lived together in the past two months. 

Yuuri was finally going home to Hasetsu. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! But hey, here's the longest chapter I've written for this story! I got sick on Sunday which was when I was planning to type this up :(
> 
> So first off, I want to write a disclaimer that I am not an expert on service/emotional support animals. There are probably some inaccuracies in the story but I worked hard to keeping it close to reality. I've read a few articles and websites on it and realized that I had a few misconceptions on the topic. But let's just pretend that this story follows the subject just fine 
> 
> Anyways, I apologize for the somewhat huge time skip at the end but I'm excited to write about their adventures in Japan. If you didn't already know, the next chapter will follow the same time frame as episode one of YoI. Though, there will be different events occurring of course.
> 
> Until next time! Hopefully I update sooner than I did this time! I would also love to hear your thoughts about this chapter. :)


	6. Chapter 6

The moment Yuuri stepped foot inside of Hasetsu Station, he let out a sigh of relief. He glanced around in concealed delight, as he silently noted the renovations of the place. Unlike the last time, the train station now had elevated tracks.

He glimpsed at the Siberian Husky next to him, who peered around just as curiously as Yuuri had been. Viktor trotted besides him in awe, while his head whipped back and forth as the werewolf marvelled at the unusual site.

Yuuri recalled Viktor admitting to him that he had never travelled out of the countryside in Minnesota. Their one month break to Japan would be the first time the werewolf had left the country.

As Viktor continued to stare excitedly around the place, Yuuri couldn’t help but wonder how Viktor was able to act with such enthusiasm. Compared to Viktor’s exuberant behavior, Yuuri was exhausted after the long trip.

The two of them had just spent more than a day to travel to Japan. Before his trip back home, Yuuri had to take necessary precautions to make sure Viktor wouldn’t suddenly change into a human on the plane ride. Since Yuuri didn’t want to shock anyone, he paid a bit more to take a stop halfway to Kyushu, Japan.

Then, since Yuuri didn’t want to have paid to stay at a hotel for a night, they had slept at the airport. He had made sure to bring Viktor into the bathroom at the airport a little before the sunset. They did the same during sunrise. After that, they boarded onto their plane an hour later.

As they went down the escalator, Yuuri’s eyes locked onto a poster that had him freezing in his tracks. He gasped in horror, as his eyes widened at the familiar person pictured on the poster. It was Yuuri on the numerous of posters aligned throughout the train station.

“Th-This is…” Yuuri choked out, as he quickly scanned the words written on the poster. The supportive words only failed to make him feel better about his face being splattered all over the train station’s wall.

“Yuuri!” A familiar voice shouted out, causing him to start internally panicking. He fumbled around, not knowing what to do. “Why are you skulking around?”

“M-Minako-sensei?!” Yuuri stuttered, as he finally turned around to find his ballet teacher.

“Welcome back, after five long years!” Minako twirled around, before holding up a banter dedicated to him.

“Wh-Why are you here?” Yuuri asked in shock, as he tried to wrack his head on how exactly she would’ve known he’d be here.

The only person he mentioned his one month vacation to was his family. Though, he didn't expect his family members would tell anyone about his decision to return to Hasetsu but he supposed it was accurate that Minako wouldn’t miss any info on him coming back to Japan.

He didn’t notice that he spoke to her in English but Minako later replied back to him in the same language. It must’ve been hard for Yuuri to slip back into his mother language after mostly speaking English for the past five years in the United States.

Minako only grinned in response at his flabbergasted behavior. Then, her eyes shifted downwards to Yuuri’s side to make contact with Viktor.

“You got a new dog?” She exclaimed in excitement, as she scuffled closer to them and peered down at Vitkor with a wide, inquisitive gaze. Yuuri chuckled nervously in response, as he glanced down at Viktor as well, who shuffled restlessly next to him.

The Siberian Husky looked back at Minako with a speculative stare, as if he were evaluating her. At the wary look, Yuuri gently stroked Viktor’s head to ease him. There was no reason for Viktor to be tense about his ballet teacher. She wouldn’t do Yuuri any harm.

“I did. He’s my service dog.” Yuuri said uncertainty to his ballet teacher, watching as she nodded her head in understanding. “But I prefer to call him my emotional support dog.”

“That’s great!”

Minako said with a beam, as she knelt down to pet Viktor’s head. The cautious expression on Viktor’s face melted away as he eagerly pushed his head against her hand. When Minako continued to scratch Viktor, he let out a pleased grunt.

“I never imagined you would get a Siberian Husky but I can see why. He’s adorable.” At Minako’s flattering declaration, Viktor sent a smug look to Yuuri, who only raised an unamused eyebrow. Minako, who detected pompous attitude, let out a booming, amused laugh. “As well as cheeky. What made you decide to adopt him?”

Yuuri was about to reply when someone in the train station piped up loudly, causing Yuuri to freeze and stare at the person hesitantly.

“Hey!” A high school student shouted before proceeding to point at him with a questioning look. “Isn’t that Yuuri?”

“Yeah, it’s him.”

The person next to the student replied. Immediately, Yuuri started to hear whispers arise amongst the people in the train station. He shuffled around in his spot, jerking his head from left to right, feeling dreadful at the sudden attention he was receiving.

The declaration of Yuuri’s name caused Minako to frown, peering at the people alongside of Yuuri. Viktor also glanced around curiously, most likely wondering what the abrupt buzz was about.

“I haven’t heard any news about him lately.” One person murmured softly, making him turn to the source of sound with a soft gasp. Right as soon as he did, another person spoke loudly about him.

“Remember he lost a big competition last year?”

“Was it the nationals?” A person replied with another question.

Yuuri deflated in his spot when the hushed gossip refused to die down. He wasn’t exactly expecting the people to quiet down about him. With Hasetsu being a small town, he would assume people knew a lot about him.

Viktor must’ve sensed Yuuri’s spiraling anxiety because he started growling lowly, glaring at every stranger staring at Yuuri in an odd way. Then, a raucous bark escaped the Siberian Husky, prompting the crowd of people around Yuuri to hush down. Once it was silent again, Yuuri felt like he could breathe properly.  

The loud bark from Viktor seemed to have also snap Minako out of her trance. With a small smile, Minako began to reassure Yuuri gently.

“Oh, don’t think too much about them. They’re just excited to have you back in Hasetsu.” Minako declared, as she gripped his arm and pulled him towards the exit. “Let’s just quickly get you home to Yutopia. I’m sure your family is expecting you!”

Yuuri clasped his luggage tighter, as a small smile appeared on his face. He was excited to see his family after five long years.

 

\---

 

“Yuuri, welcome home!” Hiroko shouted out in enthusiasm, as she raced towards him in delight. His mother stopped in front of him with a wide smile, clearly thrilled he was home after he spent many years in America for skating and college.

“Thanks.” Yuuri murmured softly. Then, he looked towards the ground in shame. He wondered how his mother felt about him coming home after so long. Yuuri was too focused on his skating career to come home and visit once. “I’m sorry it’s been five years… ”  

“It’s all good!” Hiroko said with a beam, before placing her hands together in an apologetic gesture. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your graduation, too.”

Then, her gaze fluttered to the ground where Viktor was staring at her intently, his blue eyes studying her carefully. His mother tilted her head in curiosity, as her smile grew wide at the sight of Viktor.

“Wow!” Hiroko exclaimed, clasping her hands together in glee as her eyes surveyed Viktor thoughtfully. “Did you get a new dog? He’s cute!”

“Yeah, I did.”

“What’s his name?”

“It’s Viktor.” Yuuri said hesitantly, wondering if either his mother or Minako would make a remark about the similarity between Vicchan and Viktor’s name. Everyone he told Viktor’s name to always mentioned the resemblance. Yuuri didn’t know how many times he had to tell people it was simply a coincidence.

“That’s a nice name.” His mother said, as she knelt down to pet Viktor, who leaned into the touch like usual. She scratched him tenderly with a soft smile on her face. After awhile, she sent Yuuri a gentle smile. “That reminds me. Go say hi to Vicchan.”

“Oh, that’s right…” Yuuri whispered, frowning slightly to himself. When Vicchan died, his mother mentioned building a memorial for the dog. He stared at the floor in a fit of heartache, sad to be thinking of Vicchan’s death.

Viktor nudged his hand, his cold nose encouraging Yuuri to glance at him. He looked at Viktor, who stared at him reassuring blue eyes. Yuuri only smiled back somberly, before peering back at his mother’s sincere face.

“I should go and visit Vicchan.” Yuuri said hesitantly, staring at his mother in worry. He didn’t want to leave without her approval. It’s been too long since he’s seen her and he didn’t want to rush out. That would be incredibly rude.

“Go ahead! We’ll be waiting here.” His mother told him comfortingly, waving him off with a smile. With a thankful nod, Yuuri and Viktor headed to Vicchan’s shrine, dropping off his two suitcases in his bedroom on the way.

At the shrine, Yuuri sat there silently with the incense overpowering the room, observing the photo of both Vicchan and him as a teenager. Viktor laid next to him silently, nothing more than just a comforting presence as Yuuri lamented the death of his dog.

“Sorry I couldn’t see you one last time, Vicchan.” Yuuri whispered regretfully. He wished he would have taken the time to visit at least once.

After he uttered those words, his sister stopped by for a short moment and welcomed him back home. After talking to him briefly, she told him to go soak in at the hot spring and left the room with a cigarette in her hand. Yuuri noted in surprise that she didn’t stare at Viktor for longer than a second. Either Minako or their mom must’ve told her about his new dog.

Yuuri barely pondered on the offer to bathe in the hot spring. It sounded like an amazing idea after a long trip back. His sore body was aching for a dip in the hot, relaxing pool of water.

 

\---

 

Viktor sat on Yuuri’s old bed, staring out at the window restlessly. The sun was soon setting which meant that he would no longer be the canine he was now. With an impatient huff, he laid down on the bed. Yuuri had left earlier to enjoy the hot springs, leaving Viktor to wallow in his own misery. Though, Yuuri left with the promise to be back soon.

He had tried following Yuuri along to the hot spring but instead of letting Viktor accompany him, Yuuri only argued with Viktor about how night was approaching soon and that it would be best for him to wait in Yuuri’s bedroom. He also mentioned how it would be awful for Yutopia’s reputation if the guests were to find dog hair in the bath.

In response, Viktor had only pouted at him, sending Yuuri his best sullen face. Viktor thought his sulking expression was well executed and that Yuuri would surely let him trail after him to the hot spring.

However, Yuuri only chuckled apologetically, leaving him stuck in the bedroom. Viktor had slunk on the bed with a whine, as he glared at the door in spite, concluding that Yuuri was sadly starting to grow way too immune to his puppy dog face.

He stared out the window dully, counting the seconds before the sunset. After he had counted over a hundred seconds, the sun began to fade into the horizon while the sky darkened, propelling Viktor’s body to shift into a human form. His transformation was always swift and painless.

Viktor held out his limb in front of his face, examining his hand that was no longer a paw. He flexed it and with a soft smile, he jumped off the bed and stretched, enjoying the way his back popped as he bent his body backwards.

He turned to the mirror in Yuuri’s bedroom, admiring how he looked. Usually when he was a wolf or a ‘Siberian Husky’ as Yuuri liked to call him, Viktor often looked like the other wolves with his thick gray and white fur, medium sized body and arctic blue eyes.

However, whenever he was a human, Viktor carried an appearance that was unique to other people. He supposed it might’ve been because he was a werewolf that he acquired such uncommon physical features.

His gray hair was a trait that people usually picked up on because it was rare in regards to a human’s typical hair color. Then, there were other attributes such as his striking blue eyes and built physique.

Brushing his gray hair back, Viktor frowned at the mirror. Despite having such a heavy coat as a wolf, his forehead was growing more noticeable as his hair started to become thin. Viktor stared in dismay at himself for a minute longer before he smoothed down his bangs in an attempt to hide his wide forehead.

Then, Viktor walked towards the suitcase Yuuri had packed for him. If he didn’t have clothes on by the time Yuuri returned, the Japanese male would definitely throw a panicked fit over his naked state. He put on a simple attire of a black shirt and jeans before flopping back on the bed.

As he waited, Viktor nuzzled into Yuuri’s pillow, noting in dismay that the bed didn’t smell anything like the young man. It was to be expected, especially after learning this was the first time Yuuri was coming back to his home in Hasetsu after five years. Viktor continued to breath in the clean scent of the bed sheets, wishing it had the same fresh, fruity scent of Yuuri’s as the one back in their home at Detroit.

After lying in the bed for what seemed like an hour, Viktor rolled off the bed with an irritable grunt. He glanced at the door with a slight frown. He knew that Yuuri wouldn’t want him to be out of the bedroom, especially with his family members around, but Viktor was starting to grow antsy waiting in Yuuri’s tiny room. He wanted someone to talk to or something to do.

Viktor hated being cooped up while Yuuri was off somewhere.

Before heading out of the room, Viktor figured he should dress more warmly and reached for a coat in his suitcase. It was a gray overcoat that belonged to Yuuri’s ex.

Viktor looked at it with a spiteful glare, begrudgingly noting that it was a popular brand that he liked himself but didn’t have the money for. He had to admit that Yuuri’s ex-boyfriend had good taste in clothes.

Viktor placed the Armani coat on and a pair of shoes on and flickered his gaze at the mirror. Catching a glimpse of himself, Viktor was surprised. He looked at himself appreciatively, striking a couple of poses at the mirror, as well as subjecting it to his bright smile.

Viktor wasn’t the type to brag but he looked awfully good in the expensive coat. He was really starting to appreciate clothes these days. Sometimes, Viktor wished he was a human throughout his whole day just so he could shop and wear expensive brands such as the coat.

After staring at the mirror for a _little_ too long, Viktor decided to get back on track and try his best to find Yuuri. He opened the door slowly, peeking out carefully to see if anyone was close to him. Luckily, the halls were completely empty which prompted Viktor to head towards the direction of where he believed the hot springs were.

Not too long after Viktor started moving, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and jerk his head back to the person who had suddenly touched him. He stared at the woman hesitantly, briefly recalling that Yuuri had called her sister earlier that day and later informed Viktor that she went by Mari.

She spoke to him in rapid Japanese, causing Viktor to blink in confusion and tilt his head at her. Viktor had _no_ clue what she must be saying. It wasn’t like Yuuri ever talked to Viktor in Japanese.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know how to speak Japanese.” Viktor said with a glistening smile, trying to make a good impression on Yuuri’s sister. However, she looked unamused by his dazzling presence and statement.

“This is a private area.” Mari informed him firmly, as she gripped his shoulder tighter.

“Oh.” Viktor murmured, laughing sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. He wasn’t quite sure what excuse to come up with for Yuuri’s sister. It took him a few seconds of rummaging through his head as he awkwardly laughed to buy some time. “I apologize. I got a bit lost but can you point to me the way of the hot springs?”

Mari sent him a wary look and pointed to the right where the lobby was at. Viktor smiled, as he followed the direction she pointed at.

“It’s next to the Yutopia’s gift shop. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” Viktor thanked with a bright beam and headed towards the direction Mari pointed, feeling her intense gaze penetrate the back of his head. He swallowed nervously, not understanding why her look unsettled him.

After contemplating about the matter briefly, Viktor determined it was the way her stare was filled with suspicion, as if he were someone to be cautious about.

Viktor reached the hot spring, looking awfully out of place in all of his warm clothes while most of the people in the place were nude. He peeked around, trying to catch a glimpse of Yuuri.

However, he had no luck in trying to find Yuuri after glancing around. Viktor quickly left, not wanting to spend more time looking at naked people. Yuuri began to understand what Yuuri meant by not wanting to stare at Viktor’s bare body whenever he was a human.

He headed back inside of Yutopia, blinking in confusion. Eventually, Viktor ended up in a room where it must’ve been where people went to eat with the large number of tables in the room. There were a few guests looking at him oddly, causing Viktor to stare back and raise an inquiring eyebrow.

Their ogling eyes glanced away after that. Viktor supposed his appearance must’ve been a factor for the abnormal looks. All the guests Viktor has seen so far in Yutopia were Asian.

“All right, Chris! Get ‘em!”

Someone shouted deafeningly in English, causing Viktor to balk at the loudness of the yell. He glanced at the person, surprised to see it was the person who Yuuri referred as ‘Minako-sensei.’ Judging from the amount of bottles on the table, it appeared as if Minako was heavily intoxicated. She was also shrieking at the TV in a frenzy.

Viktor shifted his eyes onto the screen, curious to learn what was all the fuss was about. It appeared to be a skating competition and the person performing seemed to be…

Yuuri’s ex-boyfriend… Viktor scowled, annoyed at the sight of the man.

“Yuuri, your favorite, Chris, is about to start!” Minako declared, literally shaking in excitement as Chris shifted into his starting position.

Viktor glared irritably at the screen, hoping to burn a hole through the man’s head. Sadly, Chris wasn’t physically here for him to do so. Clenching his hand in annoyance, Viktor turned away with childish huff of displeasure.

He didn’t see what was so special about Chris. Viktor could definitely skate better than the man despite only having a limited amount of his free time on the ice. He only skated back in his old home in the countryside whenever it was cold enough for the pond to freeze.

“He’s not back yet.”

A familiar voice infiltrated his thoughts and Viktor turned his head to find Yuuri’s mother. She was smiling at Minako, holding a tray of steaming food. Viktor felt his stomach growl at the sight and scent of a warm dish. However, he shook his head stubbornly, wanting to hear more about where Yuuri might be.

“He must be at Ice Castle.” Yuuri’s mother said softly, laughing in a nostalgic manner, probably reminiscing on a time in the past.

Those were the only words Viktor needed to walk out of Yutopia, determined to find Yuuri. He was slightly irked that Yuuri decided to leave without telling him, despite the two of them growing so close in the past few months. As he left, Viktor immediately noticed the chilly temperature. It was a good call for him to dress himself warmly before he left.

After striding down a street, Viktor abruptly realized that he didn’t exactly know the path to Ice Castle. Viktor froze, as he whipped his head to the right and left, trying to figure out where he currently was. The only view he recognized was the beach next to him, recalling that he had looked out at the gorgeous sight on the way to Yutopia earlier in the day.

“Hey, you!” Viktor called out, as he jogged closer to an old man fishing into the sea. The older man didn’t seem to hear him so Viktor yelled again. “Excuse me!”

“Huh?” The man croaked, as he whipped his head towards Viktor.

“Do you know where Ice Castle is?”

“The skating rink?” The man replied in broken English. At Viktor’s enthusiastic nod, the man pointed in the opposite direction of where he was walking. Viktor followed the man’s finger and tilted his head at the sight of a building. “There’s one right below Hasetsu Castle. Try there.”

“Thanks!” Viktor said with a bright smile and headed towards the castle.

Once Viktor finally managed to find Ice Castle, he discreetly walked through the entrance. Surprisingly, no one was at the front where there seemed to be skates on display. With a slight frown, Viktor came to the realization that Ice Castle was an ice rink. He had no clue on why Yuuri would want to skate this late at night.

He quietly walked into the ice rink arena, blinking in surprise when he found Yuuri chatting to a woman around the same age as Yuuri. Yuuri also had a pair of skates on and he was on the ice rink, talking to the woman who was behind the rail.

The two of them didn’t seem like they were going to stop talking anytime soon. So Viktor stood there silently, as he strained to hear what exactly they might be talking about.

“Your skating was so beautiful!” The woman said in awe, as she stared at Yuuri with sparkling, amazed eyes. Viktor frowned, as he wondered about her relationship with Yuuri. They were acting really friendly with each other, more chummy than Viktor would have liked to see. “Where did that program come from?”

“Thanks, Yuuko. I actually choreographed it myself.” Yuuri mumbled bashfully, flushing slightly as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “I was thinking that maybe I could use it for my exhibition skate.”

“Really, that’s amazing! Do you have a song in mind?” The woman, who went by Yuuko, exclaimed in enthusiasm.

“Yeah, I do. It’s actually dedicated to someone.” Yuuri said softly, smiling faintly almost like how a lovestruck man would.

The affection on Yuuri’s face went unnoticed by both Viktor and Yuuko, who could clearly see the tender look Yuuri displayed as he thought about the person. Viktor only raised an eyebrow, wondering who the person Yuuri felt so fondly about that he created a program devoted to them.

“Yuuri, do you have someone in your life that you're not telling me about?” Yuuko vocalized the words in Viktor’s mind.

“What, no! What makes you say that?” Yuuri squeaked, his cheeks reddening even further, as he avoided Yuuko’s scrutinizing stare. Viktor watched in interest, finding himself enamored by Yuuri’s shyness as he darted his gaze away from his friend.

“Well, I’ve never seen you skate that way before…” Yuuko murmured as Yuuri continued glancing around the ice rink in a timid manner.

Viktor knew the exact moment Yuuri spotted him from how quickly the color disappeared from Yuuri’s face and how his body froze up. The brown eyes Viktor adored so much had widened as soon as they landed on Viktor’s form.

At Yuuri’s shocked expression, Viktor smiled broadly, as he waved at Yuuri enthusiastically. There was a sense of satisfaction when Yuuri gasped loudly in return, causing Yuuko to slant her head in worry at the sound. Viktor almost considered saying something but he didn’t want to mortify Yuuri further so he ended up keeping his mouth shut.

“Is there something wrong?” Yuuko asked in concern, frowning softly at Yuuri’s peculiar behavior. Yuuri only tensely smiled in return, as his eyes dashed back to Yuuko quickly in a panic.

“No! Nothing’s wrong!” Yuuri squawked, shaking his head frantically. Then, a short, nervous laugh escaped Yuuri. At the sound, Viktor chuckled quietly in amusement. It was obvious there was something wrong from Yuuri's strange behavior. Yuuri was a bad liar. “Absolutely nothing. Everything is fine! I’ve got to go now! I’ll come see you another time, Yuuko!”

Then, Yuuri scampered off the ice. When Yuuri did so, Viktor decided it was best for him to wait outside of Ice Castle. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him. Well, more than anything, Viktor didn’t want Yuuri scolding him if someone he knew caught sight of Viktor.

After five minutes of waiting outside in the bitter cold, Yuuri finally left Ice Castle. Viktor smiled wide, excited to see Yuuri. However, Yuuri only stared at him irritably, as an uncharacteristic scowl appeared on Yuuri's delicate face. Even though Viktor expected to see the annoyed look, it still hurt to be subjected to Yuuri's anger.

“Why are you here, Viktor?” Yuuri demanded curtly. The terse inquiry slightly stung, especially after all the effort he put in to go find Yuuri but Viktor didn’t let the distress convey on his face.

“Yuuri.” Viktor whined, as he pouted, sending Yuuri an accusing stare.“You never told me you were going to leave. You said you were only going to the hot spring.”

“And I did.” Yuuri stated bluntly. The sassy response Viktor received only made him huff in aggravation, turning his head away from Yuuri stubbornly. That wasn't the reply Viktor desired to hear.

Exactly what did Viktor do to deserve Yuuri’s cold behavior towards him? 

“But you didn’t tell me you were going to go skate.” Viktor declared, frowning at Yuuri. He hated feeling worried whenever Yuuri didn’t decide to inform him whenever he was going to leave for a long period of time. 

“I went to see an old friend, who hasn’t seen me for five years. You really couldn’t have waited a few hours?” Yuuri proclaimed in exasperation, raising an inquiring eyebrow. 

“Nope!”

Despite the guilty feeling, Viktor shook his head and smiled. There was always a small tight ball of anxiety whenever Viktor was separated from Yuuri. He had grown used to being near Yuuri and felt a tiny sting of distress whenever he was not in Yuuri's presence. Viktor needed to be close to Yuuri, just like Yuuri needed Viktor to be around. It was also daunting to be in a foreign country without Yuuri by his side to guide him.

At Viktor's stubborn reply, Yuuri covered his eyes with his hand and breathed in deeply, most likely in an attempt to calm himself.

“Let’s just head back. I’m going to need to sneak you back in.” Yuuri spoke softly, as he removed his hand away from his face, staring at Viktor tiredly.

“Wait.” Viktor gripped Yuuri’s arm, as he stared at him imploringly. “I don’t want to go back yet. Let’s go somewhere.”

At Viktor’s pleading look, Yuuri only sighed, a resigned expression on his face. 

“Fine."

 

\---

 

It was completely dark outside when Yuuri led him to the beach. There was a nice, chilly breeze in the air as they sat themselves down on the sand. Viktor smiled softly, letting himself enjoy the gorgeous scenery of the waves crashing onto the shore.

When the peaceful silence continued, Viktor slipped a quick peek at Yuuri, who was staring at the ocean with a thoughtful expression. Viktor opened his mouth, expecting to be the one to speak first but instead, it was Yuuri who talked first.

“So how did you find me?” Yuuri uttered, refusing to look at Viktor. 

“I ran into your sister and she directed me to the hot springs.” Viktor said, as he recalled Mari's wariness about him. He kept that piece of information to himself, not wanting to concern Yuuri. Another glimpse at Yuuri showed him looking uneasy over Viktor's revelation so Viktor smiled wide, as he tried to abate Yuuri's concerns. “But I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. She probably thought I was a guest.”

Yuuri looked a tad calmer at that but not by too much. 

“When I couldn’t find you, I overheard your mom mentioning you might be at Ice Castle. It was quite a feat to find you. I didn’t really have any directions to go by.”

“Oh…”

Yuuri only whispered in response, as he continued to stare out at the never ending sea. When Yuuri didn't speak any further, Viktor ended up asking a question that wouldn't stop nagging at his mind.

“So, that person at the ice rink is your childhood friend?” Viktor asked, simply yearning to learn more about Yuuri.

Yuuri nodded, as his eyes began to take on a distant gleam. Viktor only stared, intrigued by the reflectful look Yuuri expressed. Viktor would've guessed Yuuri was  musing about his friend. 

“Yeah, I grew up with her. She’s the reason I went into figure skating in the first place.”

It was an interesting piece of information to learn that Yuuri pursued figure skating because of his friend. It made Viktor ponder on whether Yuuri had feelings for her. Viktor briefly recalled Yuuri mentioning something about dedicating his choreographed program to someone. A slight jab of jealousy struck Viktor as he pondered on whether Yuuko was the person he dedicated it to.

“Do you like her? Is Yuuko your girlfriend?” Viktor asked, smiling widely at Yuuri, who only shook his head at Viktor’s sudden question in bewilderment.

Viktor's eyes widened in surprise. So there were no apparent feelings between the two but then again, Yuuri did tell Viktor that he was only into men. Viktor felt like an idiot for not remembering that important detail about Yuuri before interrogating him about Yuuko.

“How about any past lovers? Besides Chris, of course.” Viktor asked, frowning in distaste as he brought up Yuuri's ex-boyfriend.

“No comment…”

At the vague reply, Viktor narrowed his eyes in displeasure. How was it that Yuuri was able to make Viktor feel jealous so effortlessly? Wondering if he'll be able to make Yuuri feel envious, Viktor launched into the topic of his own personal love life.

“Let’s talk about me!” Viktor exclaimed as he proceeded to into detail about a past relationship that didn't work out. “I’ve had a girlfriend before but it didn't work out so well because I could only see her at night and she was starting to get suspicious so I had to breakup with her.” Viktor watched Yuuri closely, seeing if there would be any visible changes to his expression. There was a slight hint of shock on Yuuri's face before it shifted into a hesitant expression. Yuuri began shaking his head rapidly, throwing his hand up as he frantically urged Viktor to stop.

“Stop!”

“Sorry.” Viktor said with a laugh, finding the flustered expression on Yuuri's face adorable. “I must’ve gotten ahead of myself.”

Then, Yuuri suddenly shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to warm up. Viktor looked at Yuuri in worry, frowning at the discomfort on Yuuri's face. Compared to his own cozy overcoat, Yuuri was wearing a light jacket. When Yuuri trembled again, Viktor took initiative and stripped off his coat, placing it on Yuuri's shoulders. At the concerned frown Yuuri directed towards him, Viktor only shrugged nonchalantly and dismissed Yuuri's bothered expression with a flick of a hand.

"I'm a werewolf. I don't get cold too easily." Viktor murmured in reassurance, despite it being a lie.

Though, Yuuri didn't need to know. Once he had wrapped his coat around Yuuri, Viktor had to refrain himself from shuddering at the sudden burst of cold air that penetrated his vulnerable body. Yuuri glanced at Viktor, frowning when Viktor had failed to repress a tremor. With an exasperated sigh, Yuuri patted the spot next to him. Viktor blinked in confusion at the gesture, wondering what Yuuri was trying to say.

"Come here." Yuuri stated firmly.

At the demand, Viktor shuffled closer until he was sitting right next to Yuuri, who immediately took off the coat and wrapped it around the two of them. Viktor flushed, feeling oddly shy at the warmth Yuuri was emitting. They fell into another calming silence, as Yuuri leaned his head against Viktor's shoulder, causing Viktor's heart to beat quickly. Even though, Viktor often initiated the intimacy between the two with all of his embraces and cuddles, he always felt embarrassed whenever Yuuri decided to start the close contact. Those times were always rare but when it did happen, Viktor would often feel extremely shy. 

“So why did you go to the skating rink this late? Couldn’t you have waited until tomorrow?” Viktor said, as he tried to placate his racing heart. He knew that Yuuri wanted to greet his friend after so long but he could've gone tomorrow. There was no reason for Yuuri to head out so suddenly without informing Viktor unless there was something bothering him. 

“I'm worried.”

Viktor blinked in perplexion at Yuuri's statement. There shouldn't be anything Yuuri had to worry about, especially if it came to figure skating. From the videos Viktor have watched of Yuuri's figure skating, Yuuri always performed wonderfully. Viktor felt at awe whenever he sees Yuuri train on the ice. Even though, Yuuri didn't necessarily have a particular routine he was skating to as of now, Viktor often had amazing thoughts about Yuuri whenever he followed Yuuri to practice. 

“About what?”

“I’m scared I won’t do well this year like last year.” Yuuri said softly, biting into his lips anxiously. “I want to do better and be up on the podium but…”

“But?”

“I don’t have any inspiration. I'm starting to wonder if I should’ve retired after all…”

Viktor frowned at the depressing words, wondering on why Yuuri thought so lowly of himself. He rummaged through his head, trying to figure out a way to make Yuuri feel more confidence in himself. 

“Then, let me be your inspiration.” Viktor declared jokingly, as he wrapped an arm around Yuuri's waist, tightening his grip as he flashed him a bright smile. Yuuri stared back at him, swallowing audibly for Viktor to see, as his cheeks began to flare red. Even though Viktor said it teasingly, he could see the way Yuuri stared at him in question, as if he were sincerely contemplating Viktor's words.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I’ll help you out!” Viktor stated, more serious now that Yuuri was actually considering it. But he couldn't help adding as a playful quip. “But it doesn’t come cheap.”

“Sure.” Yuuri replied lightly, smiling at the joking declaration. 

“Just think of me, I’m sure I can lend you some motivation.” Viktor murmured, as he began to think exactly how he could inspire Yuuri to think of skating with enthusiasm. However, Viktor wasn't entirely certain if he'll be able to invoke inspiration for Yuuri. In a small fit of doubt, Viktor muttered uncertainly, "Maybe."

“Maybe…” Yuuri repeated quietly, as a small laugh escaped him.

From the way Yuuri’s eyes started sparkling as he stared at the dark ocean ahead, just maybe Viktor got to Yuuri. Viktor relaxed and smiled contently, grasping that he must've said the correct words. Reflecting back on earlier, Viktor had to admit that he didn’t know exactly who Yuuri dedicated his program for. But as he continued to observe the soft, gentle expression on Yuuri's face, Viktor realized that he wanted to be that person for Yuuri. 

Viktor longed to be the one Yuuri skated for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this change in POV! There will be several times in the future where we'll delve into Viktor's POV so hopefully you enjoyed this glimpse of his side. I also didn't want to do Yuuri's POV because you're probably a little familiar with it from the anime.
> 
> I would love to hear thoughts about this chapter! Until next time! :) (btw I made a Tumblr if you're interested in YOI postsc as well as other things and news on when I'll update. Same handle as this one, BlueberriesV. For anyone interested, I'll put a link on my profile)
> 
> (also not sure how much ppl actually keep up with figure skating but kudos to Hanyu for such an amazing short program & a huge virtual hug to Nathan Chen, one of my favorites. He's such an incredible skater at 18 and does not need all the pressure and comments after his performance tonight. I am rooting for Nathan in the free skate because he deserves the support!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a short, filler chapter which I hate to do. But I really wanted to update this and give you some news in the end.

Sneaking Viktor back into his bedroom was a tough ordeal. There were some suspicious glances Yuuri had received when he walked down the halls of Yutopia. Yuuri _knew_ those looks were directed towards him because of Viktor, who was attempting to hide behind Yuuri's body from the stares. 

However, it wasn't fooling anyone, especially since Viktor towered over Yuuri with a good three inches. 

“What a handsome man…” A woman suddenly whispered in Japanese, staring at Viktor with an interested gleam in her eyes. Yuuri glanced at her nervously, watching her study both him and Viktor.

Yuuri decided to stop in his spot which caused Viktor to bump into him with a startled _“oomph.”_ He turned to the confused werewolf with a frown, peering around him cautiously to see if any of his family members were nearby. Thankfully, no one was currently watching them but the woman who had murmured compliments about Viktor.

“Viktor…” Yuuri said with a hiss, as he turned back to glance at Viktor, who didn’t do anything but blink innocently at him. “Don’t walk so close to me. It looks fishy.”

“Okay, I can do that.” Viktor said, now leaving a three feet gap between the two of them.

It was a bit better having some of his personal space back now but to the eyes of the guests, it still must’ve been an odd sight to have someone following him all the way to his bedroom. At least there wasn’t anyone Yuuri recognized on the way. His family were most likely eating dinner at this moment.

Once he finally made it to his bedroom without anyone spotting him, Yuuri shoved Viktor in the room, warning him with a stern stare to stay there patiently. All he received in reply was a sulky frown.

“I’ll be back with food.” Yuuri stated, before closing the door on a pouting face. A loud whine resonated through the door, causing Yuuri to shush him loudly in exasperation.

 

\---

 

All Yuuri needed to do to find his family was to follow the scrumptious, tempting smell of his favorite dish, katsudon. Yuuri swallowed in hunger, strongly longing for a bite of his mom’s homemade meal. It’s been _too_ long since Yuuri has had a bite of his mother’s cooking and he was nearly salivating at a taste.

Once he entered the dining room, the sight of his parents sitting at one of the tables greeted him, softly smiling at him as they gestured him to the table. Yuuri followed, enthralled by the sight of his treasured food. He plopped down next to his sister, swallowing in hunger, before picking up his chopsticks.

Right before he devoured into his bowl, Yuuri froze as a sudden thought occurred to him. He still needed to grab dinner for Viktor as well. But before he could say a word to his family, a sudden yell from Minako startled him.

“Yuuri! Guess who won?!” Minako exclaimed drunkenly from a couple of tables down. She had a few bottles of alcohol consumed on her small table and it looked like she was was watching the World Championships. Yuuri didn’t even need to look at the TV screen to know Chris had won the competition. Minako’s uproarious enthusiasm declared it loud and clear to him already.

“Was it Chris?” Yuuri asked weakly, not surprised when he saw her slam down the bottle in her hands in excitement, nodding fervidly at him. Of course Chris managed to win gold. He’s been winning first place a lot lately.

“Of course it was him! He’s absolutely fantastic everytime he skates! The pure embodiment of eroticism!” The woman swooned, sighing loudly in awe for the whole room to hear.

Yuuri shifted his eyes from his wasted ballet teacher to the television, watching the press conference with a thoughtful frown. Naturally, the one speaking to the interviewers was Chris, who had a gold medal around his neck. Then, there was Otabek Altin in second place. On the other side of Chris, Jean-Jacques Leroy sat there, basking in his third place win.

“Why didn’t you ask your boyfriend for tickets, Yuuri?” Minako slurred, as her eyes gazed intently at the TV. “Then, we could’ve gone and cheered him on. I would have loved to meet him in real life for the first time.”

“I broke up with him.” Yuuri claimed softly. “I told you that a few months ago.”

Yuuri revealed a couple months back in a phone call with his family that he had splitted ways with Chris. His family didn’t really respond to the news since they didn't know Chris too well. Yuuri has never taken Chris back home with him to introduce him to the family so they weren't close to the Swiss male. However, Minako was extremely disheartened by the news. Yuuri wasn’t in Japan to see Minako’s reaction but Yuuri assumed she was more emotional about the breakup than Yuuri was.

He grabbed two bowls in his hands, before standing up, fully intending to bring dinner to his bedroom for both him and Viktor to eat. Yuuri didn’t want Viktor to eat dinner alone and judging from the sounds of Viktor’s sullen whines from earlier, he must’ve not wanted for Yuuri to have left.

“I’m going to my room to eat. I hope you don’t mind me bringing a bowl for Viktor.” Yuuri claimed as he smiled apologetically at his family. It was pretty rude to just not eat dinner with his family after so long. However, his mother only smiled at him, not a single sign of dismay on her face.

“It’s fine, go ahead! Just tell me if you need more to eat.” His mother said kindly, as his father nodded in agreement. Yuuri stared at them gratefully, before peeking at his sister curiously. She stared back at him with a deadpan face.

“I don’t think katsudon is a healthy meal for a dog.” His sister offered flatly. The dubious look on her face caused Yuuri to laugh nervously.

“It’s fine.” Yuuri said, before telling her in reassurance. “I’m sure Viktor could devour a pound of chocolate and still manage to live.”

 

\---

 

“I have food for us to eat.” Yuuri claimed once he entered his room, before blinking in bewilderment at the odd display in front of him.

Viktor was laid on his back on the bed, staring up at a pile of papers in his hands with an unhappy scowl. The gray-haired werewolf glared at it violently, almost as if it would ignite in flames if he were to stare daggers into it. Yuuri approached Viktor slowly, not understanding the reason for such a furious look before freezing in horror.

The papers in Viktor’s hold were his posters of Chris from many years ago. It was a dark period of time where Yuuri obsessively followed Chris' skating, captivated by the way the older man skated. Yuuri only had Minako to blame for causing him to grow fixated on Chris. Yuuri stared in horror, feeling his cheeks redden at the mortification that flooded his body.

The only reason why they weren’t in his room when he first arrived was because Yuuri asked Mari to take them off his walls and hide them under his bed. It was a moment of relief for Yuuri when he first entered his room to find that his walls were stripped clean of the pictures. His posters were a major secret that he was planning to take to the grave. 

He would have never thought Viktor would’ve discovered them. Yuuri should’ve burned them whenever he had the chance.

“W-Where did you find those?” Yuuri said in a shrill voice, gulping nervously at the morose stare he received from Viktor. He placed down the warm bowls on his desk, before walking up to Viktor, who looked like he just had his life force sucked out of him.

“Under your bed…” Viktor mumbled in an empty tone, before flopping his arms down to the bed, still holding the posters in his hand as he stared dully at the ceiling.

“Oh, um, okay.” Yuuri said nervously, cautiously watching Viktor, who only continued to lie there silently. He crept towards the despondent werewolf, tilting his head in worry when Viktor didn’t move an inch. Viktor only laid there lifelessly in a pile of despair. “Let me just grab those from you and we can eat dinner.”

Yuuri touched the stack of posters and pulled. _Except_ his hand didn’t budge so Yuuri attempted to grip the posters tighter and wrench it from Viktor’s clutch but he  _still_ wasn’t able to grab hold of the papers.

“Viktor, let go.” Yuuri demanded, as he continued to try seizing the huge pictures of Chris from Viktor. However, Viktor didn't release his grip, only grasping onto them more tightly, despite Yuuri asking him to. Yuuri's eyes started to twitch at the stubborn attitude the werewolf, more like _puppy,_ was displaying. 

“Not until you give me permission to rip them to shreds.” Viktor said with a huff, as his face morphed into a sullen frown.

“Well, I would but…” Yuuri started, before mumbling uncertainly. “Some of these are limited edition and costed me a fortune.”

“Yuuri!” Viktor whined in response, throwing his head back onto the mattress in childish frustration. 

“Okay, fine! I’ll let you do whatever you’d like with them but let’s eat first. Our food is going to get cold.” Yuuri said, as he released his hold onto the papers in resignation. He went to reach the bowls again and held the meal in front of Viktor, who reluctantly sat up and released his grip on the posters. Viktor placed them on the bed, sending the picture of Chris one last glare, before reaching down to take the Katsudon from Yuuri's hands. 

Yuuri watched attentively as Viktor took his first bite of his favorite meal, feeling oddly nervous for his response to the Japanese dish. 

“This is good!” Viktor’s face splitted into a huge smile, different from his look of grumpiness from earlier, causing Yuuri to exhale a sigh of relief. He was glad Viktor liked the meal. Viktor took another bite, before declaring in excitement, “Vkusno!"

“Vkusno?” Yuuri questioned, not recognizing the term at all.

“It means _delicious_ in Russian.” Viktor answered, as he continued to consume his meal hastily. Then, the werewolf chattered in between his bites. “I’ve been practicing the language.”

“Why?” Yuuri said with a confused blink. He didn't understand why Viktor would want to learn an entire different language. English was a language that was more useful to them in Detroit than Russian would ever be.

“So I know how to speak Russian when I make it to Siberia.” Viktor said, groaning in content at the taste of his meal.

“Oh, that’s right…” Yuuri murmured, as he stared down at his bowl sadly, feeling his appetite vanish instantaneously. He silently peeked at Viktor, who continued to eat his meal, oblivious to Yuuri's conflicting emotions. 

Yuuri couldn’t completely understand why his heart ached heavily at Viktor's answer. It's not like he wasn't already aware of the fact. 

There was only a few more months before Viktor will be entirely gone from his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, so I just wanted to announce that I'm most likely going to take a hiatus with this story and sorry for the rushed, kinda sloppy chapter. I wrote it all in like three hours. So I enjoy writing for this story a lot but it's just that every time I write a new chapter for this story, I end up hitting a block because I have NO idea what to write next. It probably has to do with me writing this story on the spur so I don't really have a clear outline about the next few chapters, except for the ending. 
> 
> Hopefully, I won't keep you all waiting for too long but it might be a month or more before I update for this story. I decided I'm not going to continue this until I have a draft about the number of chapters and what each chapter is about which I did for my other multi-chaptered story which made it WAY smoother for me to complete. The next time I update, I will definitely have the total number of chapters this story will have. 
> 
> But besides that, I will still be uploading new stories because I have so many ideas that come to me so easily unlike this story...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know in the last chapter, I said there will be a hiatus but I already had this chapter halfway done a few days ago and thought it would be best to update it before taking a break.
> 
> So enjoy this chapter!

It’s been around a week since Yuuri has arrived in Hasetsu. After that first day in his hometown, both Yuuri and Viktor seemed to have fallen into a regular routine. They would start their morning with a light breakfast before taking an early jog. Viktor appeared to have enjoyed trotting by Yuuri’s side whenever Yuuri decided to do so. Then, Yuuri would head to the Ice Castle to practice on his skating.

Today, in particular, Yuuri seemed to be flubbing a lot of his jumps. Everytime he would try to launch himself into one, whether it was a double, triple, or quadruple, Yuuri always found himself landing flat on his butt. After attempting another triple and failing, Yuuri just laid on his back on the ice and stared blankly at the ceiling.

How was he ever going to get on the podium like this?

Viktor was convinced that Yuuri would be able to make it to the top at the Grand Prix Final but Yuuri didn’t have much hope about it. It was likely Chris would be on the top with Yuuri on the bottom.

Then, there was the whole issue of confronting his ex-boyfriend again during competition. There was bound to be awkward feelings between them and with Viktor by his side, Yuuri wasn’t certain if he wanted there to be a lengthy conversation between the two.

“Oh, what am I going to do?” Yuuri groaned, banging his head back against the ice, as he slammed his fists on the ice in frustration.

Inspiration. Yuuri just needed to think of his inspiration for the season.

Viktor told Yuuri to think of him as his motivation. He needed to think of how to transfer his motivation of Viktor onto the ice. When Viktor had suggested the idea, Yuuri couldn’t help but think that it was somewhat a perfect suggestion. In these past few months, Viktor has been by his side and had meant much more to him than Chris had ever meant.

To even begin transferring his feelings into his skating, Yuuri had to think of the particular emotions Viktor exactly invoked in him. A series of words immediately popped up in his head.

Comfort. Fondness. Affection. Friendship. _Lo-_

A loud bark snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to flinch as he sent a startled look at Viktor, who laid outside of the rink. He looked extremely bored as he rested his head against his paws but there was a hint of worry in his sharp, blue eyes and the way his ears perked up to hear if Yuuri was moving.

Yuuri sat up abruptly, feeling his cheeks redden. He must’ve been laying on the ice at least for a minute.

“I’m fine! I was just thinking.” Yuuri shouted in embarrassment, watching as Viktor looked away from him, appearing unimpressed. Yuuri wiped off the ice pieces of him, smiling awkwardly at Viktor, who narrowed his canine, blue eyes in doubt.

Yuuri stood up, breathing in sharply, before checking the clock on the wall. It was aiming to be sunset soon. He mulled back on the schedule Celestino had planned for him, pondering on whether he fulfilled all the exercises his coach had told him to do.

Once he came to the conclusion that he did do the tasks he had set out to do today, Yuuri skated towards the exit of the ice rink, where Viktor was waiting for him in growing excitement with his tail wagging slowly. Yuuri felt slightly bad that all Viktor could do to pass time as a dog was watch Yuuri skate the whole day. It must be agonizing to only watch Yuuri fall over himself.

“Ready to go?” Yuuri asked, as he placed on his skate guards onto his skates. By Viktor’s eager bark, it sounded he was prepared to leave. “Okay, let me just say goodbye to Yuuko and we can go.”

After removing his personal skates, Yuuri put on his Nike shoes and placed the skates into his duffle bag. Then, he adjusted the heavy duffle bag on his shoulder and began walking out to the entrance. Yuuko, who was sitting at the counter near the entrance, beamed at him and waved.

“Bye Yuuri! I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow as well.” Yuuko said, smiling at him kindly. “You should come over for dinner sometime this week. I bet Takeshi and the kids won’t mind!”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Yuuri replied back. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

After saying his farewells, Yuuri was out the door, with Viktor trailing with him. Heading back to Yutopia should only be a twenty minute walk but from the appearance of the sky, Yuuri wasn’t sure if they would be able to make it home before Viktor would turn into a human. The sky was already a blend of orange, pink, and red with the descending sun near the scarlet horizon.

Yuuri glanced at Viktor nervously, knowing that any second from now, the werewolf could be changing into a human soon. However, Viktor appeared to be unperturbed by the fact, only sauntering peacefully next to Yuuri in a casual manner.

Then, there was a quick flash of a certain look from Viktor that warned Yuuri of the event that was about to occur. Yuuri panicked, squeaking loudly, as he glanced around his surroundings. He spotted a huge tree that would be able to shield the two of them from the main road. Not waiting to see if Viktor was following along, Yuuri darted to the tree.

Throwing his duffle bag down, Yuuri hastily zipped it open and pulled out all of Viktor’s clothing. He glanced up briefly and when he saw a pair of pale, _naked_ legs, Yuuri tensed up in embarrassment before tossing the clothes towards Viktor. Once he was certain Viktor was placing on his attire, Yuuri threw his hands up to his face, shielding his pure eyes from Viktor’s body.

Yuuri should be past this. It’s not like he hasn’t seen Viktor’s nude form for the hundredth time already. Heck, Viktor wasn’t even the first guy he’s ever witnessed exposed. His face shouldn’t even be flaring up at the sight.

“This can’t keep happening…” Yuuri mumbled to himself, eyeing the duffle bag where Viktor dropped his red collar. This was the fourth time this week Yuuri had failed to head home early enough before Viktor shifted. He thought he would’ve been better at heading out early after the first time it happened.

The first time, Yuuri didn’t have Viktor’s clothes with him in case of an emergency which was a big mistake on his part. One second, Yuuri was musing about how the sun was starting to set and whether or not he needed to find a spot for Viktor to transform. Then, the next second, there was a very naked Viktor walking besides him, smiling innocently at him like he wasn’t bare open to the world.

Yuuri had shrieked deafeningly in horror, his eyes expanding to the size of saucers, as he gawked at Viktor. If there were people around, Yuuri would have surely blown a few eardrums out. Viktor only blinked cluelessly at the shrill sound, looking confused on the reason Yuuri was screaming like someone was out to murder them.

Then, Viktor had looked down at himself, bare and open, before uttering a simple, _"Oh."_  That was the only word Viktor had to say. The urge to wring Viktor’s neck has never been so strong before and Yuri wasn’t even a violent person. The soft smile that _still_ hasn't left Viktor’s face only caused an inkling of suspicion in Yuuri that Viktor was fully aware that he was about to shift into a human.

After shoving Viktor into a secluded bathroom spot nearby, where Yuuri had to stealthily hide the werewolf because there was one person loitering around the area, Yuuri warned him to stay there obediently. Viktor wasn’t amused from that point on, as he deflated at the spot and sulked, staring at Yuuri with his god-forsaken dejected eyes.

Yuuri had sprinted home at a godly speed, before bolting into Yutopia with a wild gleam in his eyes. Suffice to say, he most likely scared most of the guests in the inn. Once he shoved in enough clothes to cover every inch of Viktor’s skin, Yuuri dashed back out, praying that Viktor didn’t step out of the bathroom in the state he was.

Once Viktor was dressed in the bathroom, Yuuri swore to himself he would no longer leave the rink later than the sunset. But somehow, Yuuri always found himself occupied with improving his skating that the time would always slip his mind.

If possible, Yuuri wanted to strangle himself as well.

“You’re always startled when I shift. It’s not like I mind being nude in public.” Viktor said, as he flashed a dazzling smile to Yuuri. He was dressed warmly with a load of layers on, all his clothes from Chris. Yuuri felt his eye twitch in exasperation at the words.

“Well, that’s because you’re some weird lunatic. I’m not bailing you out when you’re arrested for public indecency.” Yuuri huffed, before turning to look at the road. It was dark already and there was not a person in sight. It was starting to grow cold as well, making Yuuri scrunch up his nose in dislike. “Let’s just get going.”

“Yuuri, let’s go to Hasetsu Castle!” Viktor whined. “It’s boring if I just stay in your room the whole night.”

Yuuri frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. They haven’t even been in Japan for more than a week and Viktor was already making demands from left to right to go to places. His family were probably wondering what Yuuri was up to with him going home late. He hoped they didn’t come up with any strange assumptions.

“I want to go home… And plus, it’s dark outside.” Yuuri was exhausted. He spent the whole day practicing his skating. The only time he took off were small breaks to eat or take Viktor outside.

At Yuuri’s response to his request, Viktor smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from any bad people.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about…” Yuuri said in exasperation. He stared wearily at Viktor's imploring gaze, before sighing in resignation. “Only for twenty minutes.”

 

\---

 

When they reached Hasetsu Castle, Viktor and Yuuri both went to sit on the bench close by. They’ve spent day here just a few days ago when it was still light outside, where Yuuri had spent his time using the bench as an exercise tool while Viktor just rolled around on the dirt, chasing rabbits for his own amusement while Yuuri worked out.

But now, they just sat there silently on the bench in the dark with the crickets chirping loudly. Yuuri pulled out his phone, furrowing his eyebrows in bewilderment as he checked through his social feed. He stole a glimpse at Viktor, who was deeply invested in the phone that Yuuri had bought him a couple months back. The screen of their phones brightly illuminated their dark surrounding.

He didn’t understand why Viktor wanted to come to this spot when they could easily go back to his bedroom to use their phones. It sort of felt odd sitting in the frigid night, not saying a word to each other, as they were engaged in their technology. The slight smile on Viktor’s face had Yuuri feeling baffled. Was there a joke he was missing out on?

Yuuri glimpsed back on his phone, before realizing with surprise that someone had just texted him. That someone being Viktor, who was sitting right next to him, silent as he continued doing whatever business he had on his phone.

“Viktor?” Yuuri asked softly, raising an eyebrow as he pressed on the notification on top of his phone’s screen to direct him to his text messages with Viktor. The content of Viktor’s message had him tilting his head in perplexity.

“Yes?” Viktor murmured in reply, a faint smile on his lips, as he refused to look away from his phone to regard Yuuri.

“Why did you just text me?” Yuuri questioned, as he stared at the Instagram link that Viktor had sent him via text. He couldn’t figure why Viktor would send him a link to an account, especially since he could just tell Yuuri since they were besides each other. “I’m sitting right next to you…”

“Press on the link!” Viktor offered insistently, not offering any more words.

Knitting his eyebrows together, Yuuri sighed in resignation. There was no point in questioning anything Viktor did these days, especially since they were all a bit odd. Yuuri clicked the link, waiting for the account to load. When it finally did, Yuuri stared at the name for at least ten seconds, blinking blankly as his mind tried to process, before he reacted.

“Is this… a fan account of me? Why’d you send this to me?” Yuuri asked in befuddlement. Of all things Viktor could have sent him, why a fan account?

The name of the account was called _**Yuuri-for-Gold**_ which was an unusual name to say the least and the profile picture that was being used both had Yuuri and Viktor, who was in his canine form, from a couple days of ago. There was only one small matter Yuuri couldn’t figure out and that was how the person behind the account was able to use the photo, especially since Yuuri has never posted it before.

“I made it!” Viktor declared, directing his bright, heart-shaped smile to Yuuri, who could only raise his eyebrows until they reached his hairline. Needless to say, Yuuri was puzzled.

“You made a fan account dedicated to me?” Yuuri said slowly, staring at Viktor, who nodded in confirmation. Blinking in wonder, Yuuri peeked back to his phone screen. “Uh, why?”

“To help motivate you! You’re going to need a lot of support from me and your fans to encourage you, especially since you’re so down all the time.”

Viktor’s blunt words shot a bullet through his heart, causing Yuuri to slump in his seat dejectedly. Despite the brutal impact of the comment, Yuuri had sadly admit there were some truth to it.

Yuuri didn’t offer a response, reading the short description Viktor had on his fan account. It only had the sentence, _"Yuuri will win gold, not Chris,"_  along with a thumbs-down and frowny face emoji next to Chris’ name. At the vague, absurd description, Yuuri brought a hand to his face and sighed wearily.

“Really?” Yuuri muttered in exasperation, as he sent Viktor a probing stare.

Usually, Viktor wasn’t this immature unless Yuuri was leaving Viktor alone by himself or Chris was part of the picture. When Viktor only responded to his slightly irritated expression with a guiltless slant to his head, his blue eyes blinking innocently at him, Yuuri sighed before directing his attention back to the Instagram profile.

Yuuri didn’t have a clue what the one picture Viktor had posted might be when he pressed onto the image. When the post finally loaded, Yuuri stared at it blankly for a few seconds, before arching an eyebrow in confusion.

“Wait, why is the first post on the fan account a picture of you?” Yuuri said, astonishment clear is his voice as he adjusted his glasses, before squinting at the picture to take a closer look.

It was a picture that Yuuri had taken a few days ago of Viktor sitting as a Siberian Husky in front of Hasetsu Castle, his tongue out as he looked at the camera jubilantly. The photo was a very adorable picture Yuuri had snapped of Viktor, who had urged Yuuri to send the image later that day. As cute as the picture was, Yuuri couldn’t understand why Viktor posted it on a fan account that was supposed to be about Yuuri.

“Don’t tell me this is why you asked to come to Hasetsu Castle tonight…” Yuuri stated, shaking his head slowly as he studied the post. It was a bit entertaining to see such a ludicrous fan account so Yuuri laughed lightly, smiling in amusement. “I thought this was a fan page dedicated to me, not an appreciation page about you.”

Viktor only huffed, looking immensely offended by Yuuri’s statement. The exaggerated gesture had Yuuri stifling his laughter but a soft giggle fell out of him. Viktor was a bit too dramatic at times.

“Well, as your service pet, I feel as though the fans should learn to appreciate me more. I work hard.” Viktor said, his mouth twisted into an insulted pout.

Yuuri wasn’t even sure if most of his fans were even aware that he had a dog.

“Follow me back.” Viktor said but Yuuri didn’t say anything back. Yuuri’s eyes glimpsed to the top of the Instagram page, where it showed the amount of people Viktor was following and the number of people following Viktor.

“You’re following two people and you have one follower…” Yuuri mumbled as he clicked to see the list of people Viktor was following. Unsurprisingly, one of the people Viktor was following was Yuuri. However, the second account was what had Yuuri widening his eyes, taken aback by the name.

“Uhh, Viktor?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you following an anti-Chris page?” Yuuri asked, as he turned his phone screen to Viktor, who stared at it in silence for a long time, his face expressionless as his blue eyes skimmed over the name.

Then, Viktor finally responded with a heavy frown. He apppeared reluctant to answer Yuuri's question.

“You’re asking a lot of questions today…”

Yuuri sighed deeply, as he pinched his forehead in frustration, before narrowing his eyes skeptically at the werewolf. It was oddly weird how Viktor deflected answering his question. Hopefully, that didn’t mean Viktor was up to something.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you made that account.” Yuuri said suspiciously, waiting for Viktor bicker back in denial. However, there were no words of the sort from Viktor, who only steered his eyes back onto his own phone, looking at it impassively.

That was _very_ questionable.

“Follow me back!” Viktor declared loudly, as he proceeded to avoid eye contact with Yuuri, who could only raise an inquiring eyebrow in disbelief. There was no absolute way Yuuri could associate himself with Viktor’s account. There were just too many reasons why following Viktor’s fan page would just be a hot mess.

For one, the name was a bit too confident in its claim that Yuuri was going to earn gold when he wasn't even sure if he’ll be able to make the podium. Then, there was the obvious distaste for Chris in the description which didn’t bother Yuuri too much but it still wasn’t right. Lastly, the anti-Chris account was just wrong on many levels.

And the picture of Viktor…? Well, Yuuri supposed the post could stay on the account. It was adorable.

“I’ll follow you only when you unfollow the Chris page, as well as change your username and description.” Yuuri offered, which caused Viktor's face to fall.

“Fine.” Viktor muttered with a sulking pout, before grumbling quietly to himself, as he began tapping on the phone screen roughly. “I guess I’ll delete the other account while I’m at it.”

“What?” Yuuri immediately questioned, tilting his head as he pondered on whether he heard Viktor correctly. He stared at Viktor suspiciously, who continued typing away on his phone.

“Nothing!”

Yuuri went back to his phone hesitantly, as he started to grow a bit impatient of waiting in the cold. He peered around at his surroundings, where the darkness of the night shrouded in on them, creating an ominous atmosphere. Frowning lightly, Yuuri shifted his eyes on Viktor, who appeared to be oblivious as he held his full attention to his phone.

After a few minutes, Viktor finally looked at him with an accomplished smile, looking proud of himself.

“Okay, I'm done. Go check it out now.”

Yuuri directed his eyes back onto his own phone screen, refreshing the fan account. A new page loaded in front of him.

 

**OfficialYuuriKatsuki**

A fan account for the Japanese skater, Yuuri Katsuki, to show my love and support! <3

 

“Is that better?” Viktor said with an inquiring frown, staring at the page with accessing eyes. “I have to admit, it’s sort of boring but I'll add more later.

“Much better!” Yuuri claimed as he pressed the _Follow_ button.

 

\---

 

Yuuri walked to his bedroom with a steaming bowl of ramen. It has been three hours since they returned from Hasetsu Castle. He had already eaten with his family but Viktor must’ve been starving after not eating since breakfast. So he whipped up a quick dish of ramen and hoped it would be enough for the werewolf. When Yuuri entered the room, a familiar tune reached his ears and the intimacy he had with the melody almost caused him to drop his bowl.

“Are you watching my skating routines?” Yuuri asked in mortification, as he placed the ramen bowl on his desk and attempted to reach for Viktor’s phone. Viktor didn’t reply, focused entirely on the video, as he scooted back on the bed when Yuuri tried to grab the phone.

“There’s nothing good about those programs. Why are you watching them?” Yuuri asked in horror, recognizing the melody for the one he skated for his last Grand Prix Final. His heart dropped when he heard the sudden gasps from the video from what seemed to be him falling from a jump.

“I want to evaluate your performance.” Viktor said seriously, as he continued to watch the video, not taking his eyes off the phone for a single second. The sound of the audience clapping after his free skate ended reached Yuuri’s ears from the phone, causing him to recoil.

“For what reason?”

The last time Yuuri had heard Viktor watching his skating was the first week the werewolf appeared in his life. It was the night when Viktor pounced on his bed and pleaded to him that he wanted to stay as Yuuri’s emotional support dog. Yuuri could distantly remember the irritation he felt that night and hearing those videos only heightened those negative emotions.

“Well, if we watch your old programs, then maybe we can figure out a way to make your new programs more better and refined this year.” Viktor said, as he narrowed his eyes in consideration at a new video, gauging in the short skate Yuuri had done two years ago.

Yuuri scuffled closer to Viktor on the bed, his eyebrows creasing together in fret. It was a relief when Viktor didn’t attempt to hide the phone away from Yuuri, who was able to place himself next to Viktor and watch the skating video alongside the werewolf.

They both watched it silently, as Yuuri began assessing himself harshly. His step sequence was sloppy, his spins weren’t fast enough, and his jumps were under rotated.

It was an awful skate and looking back at it made Yuuri dread the next skating season. There was no way he could even began to improve himself. He was going to fail badly and the audience were going to hate him.

Why did he even agree to continue skating? Even worse, he wasn't sure using Viktor as a source of inspiration would enough for him. He was atrocious on the ice today.

“Viktor, listen.” Yuuri gently placed a hand over Viktor’s when the werewolf attempted to press onto a new video to watch. “I know you wanted to be my inspiration and motivate me. So that’s why you’re watching all these videos but I think we’re better off just leaving the improvising to my coach and the experts.”

The only look he received in return from Viktor was a disapproving frown.

“You should skate to something different. It’s boring to see you perform to classical music every single year, even though it’s beautifully done.” Viktor stated sternly, clearly demanding Yuuri to listen to him.

“That’s up to my coach, not you.” Yuuri replied, a soft frown on his face.

There was only one time he had attempted to pick his own music and it was for the free skate. Then, his coach had asked him a question that had him faltering in his decision to perform to something different.

“Yuuri. If you want a shot for gold, you need to surprise your audience. Try something out of your comfort zone.”

“I mean…” Yuuri said hesitantly, before trailing off his words.

He didn’t know what to say in response. Yuuri supposed Viktor made perfect sense when he said to skate to something stimulating and new. A completely different piece would be like a fresh breath of air to the judges and his audience. However, Yuuri was too scared to go outside of his usual tastes in music for skating.

“Wait, I have just the piece!” Viktor suddenly declared, before typing in words in the search bar. “It’s perfect for you.”

Yuuri watched silently with a tense body, looking at the phone screen in anticipation. He wondered what Viktor believed was the ‘perfect’ song for him. After Viktor had pressed on a video, the melody resonated throughout the room. It was the exact opposite of what Yuuri believed suited him as a skater.

“You should use this piece!” Viktor exclaimed once the video ended, staring gleefully into Yuuri’s eyes, his body reverberating with energy. “It’s called _In Regards to Love: Eros._ It’s from one of my favorite romance movies.”

Uncertainly, Yuuri gazed back, as he shook his head automatically. Yuuri didn’t think he would be able to skate to the song, nor was he certain his coach would even allow him to. It was completely different than the compositions Yuuri would skate to in competitions.

“T-That sounds… different than what I'm used to.”

The melody sounded passionate, seducing the listeners with the enticing way the violin crooned, along with the inviting rhythm of the instruments. It was a piece Yuuri could never imagine himself skating to. If anything, it suited Chris much better than him. Eros flowed with Chris more pleasantly than it would ever do for Yuuri.

“The theme of the song is sexual love.” Viktor purred lowly, his face inching _awfully_ close to Yuuri. Then, a huge, excited grin broadened on his face. “So, it’s decided then! You’re going to be skating to this!”

“Wait, I never agreed to that. It’s nothing like me.” Yuuri widened his eyes, taken aback that Viktor had supposedly made the decision for him already.

“You’ve got to surprise your audience.” Viktor stated, causing Yuuri to stare at the werewolf in shock and gulp nervously. “Or else you’ll never reach the podium.”

“B-But I’m nothing like Eros.”

Viktor puckered his lips, staring at Yuuri in contemplation.

Then, out of nowhere, Viktor dove in and kissed him. The sudden warmth of lips against Yuuri’s own had him gasping in surprise as his head thumped loudly against the wall when Viktor kissed him. A strangled moan released Yuuri when Viktor roughly kissed him with the fervency of an animal.

When Viktor licked his lips gently, Yuuri had his mouth open in shock, as his head grew dizzy from the rapid speed of his frantic thoughts. Yuuri breathed heavily as Viktor continued to make out with him with vigor, his shocked eyes wide open. Viktor, who had his eyes closed, seemed to be basking in the heated moment.

Then, Viktor’s blue eyes slowly fluttered open and stared down earnestly at Yuuri, the color of the werewolf’s orbs flashing with an intensity that had Yuuri choking on his breath. Yuuri rarely saw the particular expression on Viktor, who was usually so absurd and nonsensical these days. But whenever he did, it always had him flustered.

“Very Eros.” Viktor purred, thumbing his lips, as he stared heatedly into Yuuri’s eyes. Yuuri shook in his spot, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by Viktor’s unexpected actions, before inching away from Viktor.

However, being swamped with Viktor’s unforeseen affections had Yuuri not thinking properly and before he knew it, he had scooted away too close to the edge of his bed. His body tilted sideways as he floored the ground.

“Aaah!” Yuuri shrieked as the side of his body slammed onto the ground brutally. After wincing in pain, Yuuri sat up abruptly, waving off the concerned look Viktor was directing towards him with his shocked, blue eyes gazing worriedly at Yuuri. Laughing awkwardly with a bashful smile, Yuuri said sheepishly, “I-I’m fine!”

A silence grew between them.

“So…” Viktor said, breaking the silence between them. His heated expression from earlier had vanquished completely, leaving only an inquisitive note to Viktor’s face. “Can you skate to Eros?”

There were a mountain of thoughts scattering throughout Yuuri’s brain and the last thing on his mind was skating. But after a couple of seconds of silently freaking out over what Viktor had just done, Viktor’s question finally processed in Yuuri’s head.

“I'll think about it…” Yuuri said weakly.

The will to argue against skating to the instrumental piece had dissolved with Viktor’s kiss. Even his soul was starting to drain out off him, leaving him slumped on the floor, wondering if Viktor really did kiss him. But Viktor must have done so because Yuuri’s lips were still burning.

“Great!” Viktor beamed, smiling at him innocently like he just didn’t shocked Yuuri out of nowhere with the kiss before he continued looking through a series of more videos of Yuuri skating.

Yuuri was on the floor, as frozen as a statue. He was still overwhelmed and couldn’t even pick himself off the ground. His legs were jelly and if he even tried to stand up, Yuuri would surely tumble to the ground again.

He was kissed by Viktor, who was a werewolf…

Yuuri was kissed by a werewolf.

_A werewolf!_

With his cheeks flushed, Yuuri stared tentatively at Viktor, who continued watching videos of Yuuri skating. There was a soft, secretive smile on Viktor’s face, as his blue eyes twinkled in mirth. Well, at least it appeared that Viktor was enjoying the heated situation that had transpired between the two.

And Yuuri?

Well, Yuuri was just sitting silently on the floor, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into when he agreed to take Viktor in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the reader's information, I actually really love Chris but I have Viktor as a jealous puppy in this story and he's certainly going to be jealous about Yuuri's ex! 
> 
> Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter and until next time! I'm on spring break vacation so I'm going to catch up on reading Yuri On Ice fics because it's been forever for me! Any good suggestions for fics from this year? I've probably already read the big ones from 2017.


End file.
